The Detroit Free Press’ Evan Petzold reports that Jace Jung and Matt Vierling “will be in the mix for the majority of playing time at third base” if the Tigers can’t sign Alex Bregman.
The Tigers have steadfastly tried to bring Bregman to town, so they hope they can land the veteran in their lineup. If not, Petzold highlights a few ways the lineup could take shape. As Petzold notes, “Vierling fits best in right field but is a better defender than Jung at third base,” so he could leapfrog the young third base prospect if the Tigers want to prioritize defense. However, “if the Tigers want both Jung and Vierling in the lineup against right-handed pitchers, then Jung has to play third base and Vierling has to play right field, keeping Kerry Carpenter as the designated hitter to protect his health.” That seems like the most likely scenario for now; yet, Jung hit only .241/.362/.304 in his 94 big league plate appearances last year with a 31 percent strikeout rate, so Petzold noted that the Tigers could send Jung down, play Vierling as the everyday third baseman and leave right field open for Wenceel Pérez, who hit .242/.300/.383 with nine home runs and nine steals in 425 plate appearances last year in his MLB debut.