DETROIT (AP) — Ron Gardenhire and the Detroit Tigers understand the challenge ahead.After about a decade of consistent contention, of high hopes and big payrolls, the Tigers finished tied for the worst record in baseball last year — and that was only the start of what could be a difficult rebuilding process. Gone are Justin Verlander, J.D. Martinez, Justin Upton and Ian Kinsler, all of whom have been traded since the start of the 2017 season. In October, Gardenhire was brought in as the team's new manager, and it could be a while before this group threatens the top teams in the AL Central again."We all know the expectations, what everybody's saying about us, but we can't let anybody affect us," Gardenhire said at the start of spring training. "We have to put our little bubble on, we have to go about our business and plan to try to win baseball games."At the beginning of 2017, it seemed clear that the Tigers would be trimming payroll soon, but they still entered the season with enough big... [More]

Capsules of American League Central teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Cleveland Indians2017: 102-60, first place, lost to Yankees in ALDS.Manager: Terry Francona (sixth season).He's Here: 1B-DH Yonder Alonso, LF Rajai Davis, RHP Alexi Ogando.He's Outta Here: 1B Carlos Santana, OF Jay Bruce, RHP Bryan Shaw, RHP Joe Smith, OF Austin Jackson, LHP Boone Logan.Projected Lineup: SS Francisco Lindor (.273, 33 HRs, 89 RBIs, 44 2Bs, 15 SBs, 10 errors), 2B Jason Kipnis (.232, 12 HRs, 35 RBIs in 90 games), 3B Jose Ramirez (.318, 29, 83, AL-leading 56 2Bs), DH Edwin Encarnacion (.258, 38, 107), 1B Yonder Alonso (.266, career-high 28 HRs, 67 RBIs with Athletics and Mariners), RF Lonnie Chisenhall (.288, 12, 53 in 82 games), C Roberto Perez (.207, 8, 38, club went 44-22 in his starts) or Yan Gomes (.232, 14, 56), CF Bradley Zimmer (.241, 8, 39, 18 SBs, 0 errors), LF Michael Brantley (.299, 9, 52 in 90 games) or Rajai Davis (.235, 5, 20, 29 SBs with Oakland and Boston).Rotation: RH Corey Kluber... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire liked what he saw in Daniel Norris' first start against the New York Yankees.Bidding for a rotation spot, Norris allowed two runs in two innings Wednesday against a lineup that could resemble the one New York uses on opening day."Ball was coming out of his hand good," Gardenhire said. "Health was all good. Now we'll see how he rebounds here in the next couple days and be able to do it again."Norris, a 24-year old left-hander, allowed just two hits, both in the first inning. Giancarlo Stanton had a two-out pop-fly single to right before Gary Sanchez sent a first-pitch fastball over the left-center field scoreboard."I was happy," Norris said. "You don't want to be eased into it, at least for me. It was my first time, might as well go for it."Norris struck out two, including Aaron Judge on a changeup."I felt like I wasn't letting it go as hard as I could," Norris said of his fastball. "I think that will come in time. I just felt more in control as far as like spinning breaking balls and stuff like that."Inconsistency and injuries have plagued Norris. He went 5-8 with a 5.31 ERA in 18 starts and four relief appearances for the Tigers last season.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

Houston Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel will have to wait even longer before playing this season.Gurriel had surgery on his left hand Wednesday and the normal recovery time is six weeks.Opening day for the World Series champions is March 29, when the Astros visit Texas. When Gurriel returns, he will serve a five-game suspension imposed by Major League Baseball for making an inappropriate gesture toward Dodgers pitcher Yu Darvish during the World Series.Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said Gurriel's hand was broken before he came to camp. Luhnow said he did not know the original cause of the fracture."It was non-symptomatic until recently and he started to feel something," Luhnow said. "Once you start feeling something, the right course of action is to just remove it because it's a pretty reliable surgery, and we know what the outcome is going to be."The 33-year-old Gurriel hit .299 with 18 homers and 75 RBIs last year in his first full season in the majors. He played in one exhibition... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — New York Yankees' fans had been waiting for this: Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Gary Sanchez hitting back-to-back-to-back.With the slugging trio in the lineup together for the first time, Sanchez hit a long home run, Stanton had two hits and Judge hit a hard grounder in Wednesday's 9-6 spring training loss to the Detroit Tigers.Stanton reached on a pop-fly single to right with one out in the first and Sanchez sent the next pitch from left-hander Daniel Norris over the left-center field scoreboard at Steinbrenner Field."It feels great when you hit squarely," Sanchez said through a translator.Norris didn't watch the ball leave the park."It was really loud," he said. "I figured it was gone. A first-pitch ambush heater that got hit really far."Stanton, acquired from Miami in December, also doubled off the right-field wall and flied out to deep center. Sanchez added a soft single to center."It looked like he was back in the (home run) derby kicking my butt," Stanton said... [More]

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — Nicholas Castellanos went into his fifth major league season as an established third baseman. He came out of it as the Detroit Tigers' right fielder."Because of all the trades and the way the team was going, and building for the future and acquiring other infielders, it's kind of the way it worked," he said Tuesday. "I'll do whatever they need me to do. Right now they've asked me to go out there and catch flyballs so that's what I'm doing."Castellanos was most of the way through his fourth season as Detroit's third baseman when the Tigers made a series of moves that prompted his shift."People came up to me and talked about it, but I also brought it up myself just because I saw how everything was happening," he said. "If you work, what happens if your boss was like: 'Hey, we need you to go over here; that's going to benefit the company.' Same thing."Some players might be hesitant to make such a drastic change in the middle of their careers."He's not in the middle of... [More]

A team-by-team look at the American League Central entering spring training, including key players each club acquired and lost, and dates of the first workout for pitchers and catchers, and the full squad:___Cleveland IndiansManager: Terry Francona (sixth season).2017: 102-60, first place, lost to New York Yankees in ALDS.Training Town: Goodyear, Arizona.Park: Goodyear Ballpark.First Workout: Feb. 15/19.He's Here: 1B-DH Yonder Alonso, OF Melvin Upton Jr., RHP Alexi Ogando.He's Outta Here: 1B Carlos Santana, OF Jay Bruce, RHP Bryan Shaw, RHP Joe Smith, OF Austin Jackson, LHP Boone Logan.Going campin': Poised to possibly end their 70-year-old World Series title drought, the Indians, who reeled off 22 straight victories in 2017, didn't even make it back to the AL Championship Series after squandering a 2-0 playoff lead against the Yankees. Unlike last winter, when the club signed DH Edwin Encarnacion in free agency, the Indians were relatively quiet, counting on their core to carry them in... [More]

LHP Daniel Norris allowed two hits over five scoreless innings before exiting with a sore groin. "Anytime I tried to throw hard, my groin would hurt," Norris said. "I was just trying to take off and throw strikes. It was good to see I could be more efficient, without just trying to be nasty, I guess. Just getting ahead, staying ahead. Yeah, it was a grind, for sure. I felt it on every pitch. I just wanted to keep going. Even when he took me out I was pretty upset. I didn't want to come out. You're in the zone there and you don't want to come out, but I understood it, for sure." Norris registered his first victory since June 16.

LHP Daniel Norris will remain in Detroit's starting rotation despite giving up five runs on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings Friday night. Manager Brad Ausmus said Norris, who took a step away from his wildness with only one walk, made some progress in returning to starting after spending time on the disabled list and then in the bullpen. He's scheduled to pitch Thursday in Kansas City, the only time he will work before the season ends.

LHP Daniel Norris returned to the Detroit starting rotation Friday night and the results in the box score don't look as good as the results on the field. Norris went 4 2/3 innings, giving up five run, seven hits and throwing 84 pitches. "He was alright," manager Brad Ausmus said. "He did some good things, threw strikes. He ended up with five runs, but it was a step in the right direction." Norris pitched two scoreless innings, then gave up a leadoff home run in the third inning before fading out in the fourth, allowing three runs on three hits. Norris also gave up a run before departing in the fifth.

LHP Daniel Norris is the most likely candidate to start Friday's game against Minnesota. Norris has been in the bullpen since recovering from groin and hip injuries that landed him on the disabled list. He's pitched three innings in each of his last two relief outings. Norris, the team's No. 4 starter the first three months, hasn't started a major league game since July 5. He would replace Myles Jaye, who has allowed 12 earned runs in 5 1/3 innings during his last two starts.

LHP Daniel Norris could return to the starting rotation before the end of the season, manager Brad Ausmus said on Monday. "We're talking about it," Ausmus said. Norris pitched three innings of relief on Saturday and gave up two runs on four hits to the Chicago White Sox. He also tossed three innings against Cleveland on Wednesday and gave up one run on two hits. Norris was the No. 4 starter in the rotation the first three months before his season was sidetracked by groin and hip injuries.

LHP Daniel Norris is pitching a little better as a reliever now than he did as a starter earlier this season but manager Brad Ausmus seems cool to the idea of putting Norris back in the rotation. Still, Norris logged three innings and threw 57 pitches in relief Saturday evening and that could position him for a start next week as Ausmus looks to get more than four innings a game out of his starters to take some pressure off a very large but still-taxed bullpen. Norris gave up a run in the seventh but most of that was due to his inability to check baserunners. He allowed a steal plus a double steal in the seventh and both runners scored on a sacrifice fly and infield grounder. Norris is slow to the plate, doesn't have a good slide-step, throws stiffly to first and seldom varies the amount of time he holds the ball before making a pitch. "You have to learn how to hold runners," Ausmus said, "and it is something that we will work with him on. He's not the only one, but we can use video to show him what they are doing to take advantage of him."

LHP Daniel Norris saw his first relief action Sunday but brought his control problems with him from the rotation. Norris gave up a pair of doubles to the first two batters he faced and then walked the next two before being taken out by manager Brad Ausmus. His fastball command has almost completely disappeared and it's now likely he'll only see duty on rare occasions as he tries to work out his problems in bullpen sessions.

LHP Daniel Norris will be used out of the bullpen for the time being, with manager Brad Ausmus indicated it was not going to be a long-term thing. "We actually talked about it probably just after his last start before he went on the DL," Ausmus said. "It was an option for him. Even though it seems like a step back, it could end up being a step forward long term. I wouldn't say it's long-term better suited to being a reliever (thing). But I think that maybe taking a step back from being a starter could end up helping him be a better starting. Like (RHP Carlos) Carrasco, (LHP Danny) Duffy and (LHP Drew) Smiley. Norris was activated off the disabled list but did not fare well in his rehab starts.

LHP Daniel Norris was roughed up again in a minor league rehab appearance Thursday night and may be used out of the bullpen after being activated Friday off the 10-day disabled list. Norris allowed five runs on five hits with four walks in two innings of a loss for Triple-A Toledo. "He felt fine," manager Brad Ausmus said, "but the results weren't great." He indicated the possibility of Norris working in relief has been discussed but no decision has been made.

LHP Daniel Norris (left groin strain) is scheduled to make his sixth rehab start Thursday and throw up to 90 pitches for Triple-A Toledo at Columbus. Norris, who has been on the 10-day disabled list since July 6, is 0-1 with an 8.64 ERA in three previous rehab starts for Toledo and got up to 77 pitches in his last outing Saturday.

LHP Daniel Norris pitched 3 1/3 innings in a rehab start with Triple-A Toledo on Monday. He gave up one hit but walked four. Manager Brad Ausmus said Norris will make one more rehab start Saturday. "His fastball command wasn't great, his breaking balls were better," Ausmus said. "The most important thing is he's healthy." Norris has been out since early July with groin and hip injuries.

LHP Daniel Norris struggled Wednesday while beginning a new rehab assignment with Triple-A Toledo. He allowed four runs on six hits in two-plus innings. It was the first of a projected three or four rehab starts. Norris has been recuperating from hamstring and groin muscle issues that had sidelined him since he made two rehab appearances for Toledo in mid-July. He last pitched for the Tigers on July 5.

LHP Daniel Norris will throw about 45 pitches Wednesday for the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens as the first of a projected three or four rehab starts. Norris has been recuperating from hamstring and groin muscle issues that have kept him off the mound since the first week of July. Manager Brad Ausmus said it will take at least three rehab starts to get him close to 100-pitch stamina but don't expect Detroit to remove him from the disabled list until after rosters are expanded Sept. 1, barring injury to another starter.