Results tagged ‘ Patrick Leyland ’
The list of non-roster invites to spring training is out, both for minor-league free agents and for Tigers prospects. Most of the names have already been announced, or at least strongly hinted it. Some haven’t. That includes third-base prospect Nick Castellanos.
Castellanos was an extra player at a few games last spring, but he’ll be in camp every day this time around, at least for the first few weeks. So will last year’s
first-round top pick, James McCann, who will serve as one of the extra catchers to catch some of the many pitchers in camp. Drew Smyly, reigning Tigers minor-league pitcher of the year, was also announced as a non-roster invite.
Here’s the full list, which actually isn’t a very long list compared with past years:
- RHP: Chris Bootcheck
- LHPs: Darin Downs, Drew Smyly
- Catchers: Rob Brantly, Curt Casali, Bryan Holaday, Patrick Leyland, James McCann, Omir Santos
- Infielders: Nick Castellanos, Audy Ciriaco, Argenis Diaz, Ryan Strieby
- Infielders/outfielders: Justin Henry, Eric Patterson
- Outfielders: Quintin Berry, Jerad Head, Matt Young
The Tigers also made their reporting dates official. Pitchers and catchers report to camp on February 19, with the first workout the next day. Most pitchers, however, will be in camp before that. The first full-squad workout is February 24.
The Tigers made their first round of roster moves Tuesday, and as expected, it cleared a big chunk of the clubhouse. Yet none of them were of particular surprise.
Among the players on the 40-man roster, Duane Below, Audy Ciriaco, Cale Iorg, Andy Oliver, Lester Oliveros, Jose Ortega and Ryan Strieby were optioned to Triple-A Toledo. Jacob Turner was optioned to Double-A Erie, so it appears he’ll take that step up to start the season rather than wait until the weather warms up.
Among the non-roster invites, here’s teh list of guys optioned to minor-league camp: John Bale, Rob Brantly, Brandon Douglas, Avisail Garcia, Ben Guez, Bryan Holaday, Patrick Leyland, John Murrian, Chris Oxspring and Omir Santos.
Jim Leyland has a very lucrative contract to manage the Tigers. Patrick Leyland, on the other hand, received a nice but modest signing bonus to turn pro after the Tigers drafted him last summer.
On the other hand, Patrick Leyland was traveling on business with his dad, and he wasn’t a tag-along. So when they got to the airport in Pittsburgh and had time to spare before their flight to Florida took off, it was the younger Leyland who picked up the bill for breakfast.
The skipper, old school as he is, had two eggs and hashbrowns. The son went with the wrap.
“It was cool,” Patrick Leyland said Sunday. “We just BS’ed a little bit. It was good. It’s kind of different, but it’s a cool experience, too. I don’t really look at it as flying down with the manager or anything. It’s still just dad. So I don’t read too much into it.”
Still, he admits, “It’s a cool experience, I think probably moreso for me than it is for him.”
It’s a pretty cool experience for dad, too. After more than 40 years of Spring Trainings, they should all run together. This one was different, he said, because his son is a part of it. They’re going to enjoy it as much as they can.
At some point this spring, of course, the younger Leyland won’t be part of this camp. Patrick Leyland is a teenage catcher, eight months removed from high school graduation and the draft. At some point, his dad will call him into the office and tell him he’s being sent to Minor League camp. The future is his.
Jim Leyland, on the other hand, is a veteran manager trying to put together a winning team. He’s also in the final year of his current contract. For him, the future is now.
Patrick Leyland isn’t going to let his job get in the way of his father’s. It was fitting, then, that while they walked into the clubhouse together when they arrived Saturday, they went in different directions as soon as they got through the doorway. Dad turned left and went to his old office. Son turned his right and found his locker in the other corner of the clubhouse, where the non-roster invites are put.
“He’s very busy getting his team ready, and that’s what he’s here for,” Patrick said. “He’s got a big job to do. He’s got a lot on his plate, and I’ve got a lot on mine.”
It’s the job, Patrick says, that’s the easy part of this odd situation.
“Honestly, I think that’s the thing that’s the least strange, the baseball stuff,” he said. “I mean, you’re doing it with different people, guys you’ve been around for a while that are good players. But that’s why you’re here. That’s the second nature part. Being around everyone is the part that’s kind of odd. But once you get out there, that’s kind of second nature.”
He has a simple goal.
“I just want to stay here as long as I can and pick up as much as I can,” Patrick said, “and really observe these guys that have been doing it for years and years, how they go about their daily business and that kind of stuff. Obviously developing is why you’re here, but to pick up how they handle themselves and how they go about their day is something that I definitely want to take with me.”