The Detroit Tigers have trekked down this rocky road before, two winters ago, signing a player who was previously suspended by Major League Baseball for domestic violence.
The ill-advised move ended predictably the next spring, 2018, after catcher Derek Norris — signed to a minor-league deal just months removed from serving a suspension — was released near the end of spring training.
This time around, the Tigers don’t appear inclined to head the same route.
On Friday afternoon, Tigers general manager Al Avila called a Thursday night report from MLB Network’s Jon Heyman saying Detroit was one of multiple teams with interest in shortstop Addison Russell “inaccurate.