Dunedin, Fla. — Back in December, Austin Romine, then making his free-agent rounds around the league, met with Tigers’ general manager Al Avila and several other members of the front office, including manager Ron Gardenhire.
Romine asked about playing time. And as he was getting the typical speech about having to earn it like everybody else, he locked eyes with Gardenhire.
“I just looked at him and shook my head,” Gardenhire said.