In Detroit Tigers rumors tonight, one of the Detroit Tigers' key acquisitions of the offseason may have a defined role being mapped out for him by Detroit Tigers management.
Former Washington Nationals utility man Steve Lombardozzi was the central piece of the December trade which shipped Doug Fister to D.C., as the Detroit Tigers coveted his ability to spot at many different positions.
However, the position that Detroit Tigers manager Brad Ausmus wants Steve Lombardozzi to see his most work is a position that the new Tiger has only played at twice in his two-plus years in the Majors--
“I told him the first day, ‘We want you to be working at short.’ Specifically short and third. That doesn’t mean he’s not going to get his looks at second or left field — although I would think at this point left field would be farther down the pecking order."
Speaking with the Detroit Morning Sun, the Detroit Tigers manager made it clear that Lombardozzi's biggest value may be in spelling starting shortstop Jose Iglesias: “If (Jose) Iglesias needs a couple days, we need a guy to play short, so ... He’s played short, hasn’t played a ton of short, so we want to see him play short."
Steve Lombardozzi told reporters that he feels "comfortable"playing on the left side of the infield, and that he is "going to work hard at all the positions" in his new utility role with the Detroit Tigers.