Lakeland, Fla. — It wasn’t totally alarming what Tigers manager AJ Hinch said about right-hander Matt Manning on Monday. It wasn’t a bombshell statement or anything like that.
But it was a firmer declaration that you might’ve expected.
“Matt deserves to be on our team,” Hinch said. “We’d like Matt to be in the rotation. How he grew throughout the course of his season in the big leagues is something we need to pay attention to. He doesn’t need to be perfect this spring.