Braves fixed Robbie Grossman in matter of days; Tigers couldn't all season

Detroit — Robbie Grossman had two home runs in 320 plate appearances with the Tigers this season. He had two homers in his first 30 plate appearances with the Atlanta Braves since the trade earlier this month.

And Tigers fans aren't going to be happy hearing Grossman's explanation.

According to an article this week in The Athletic, Braves hitting coach Kevin Seitzer and Grossman are crediting quick work by Atlanta's analytics experts. They apparently spotted a flaw in his swing in a matter of days, when the Tigers had no answers for months.

"They were very open when they got me here," Grossman told The Athletic's David O'Brien. "The first day when I got here, they kind of set me down and it was like, 'Here's the difference we saw in your swings from this year and the previous two years. This is what we think you should do.' And we just got to work, hit the ground running with it, and I feel a lot more normal now.

"What I'd been searching for all year, to re-create what I've done the last couple of years — I've been able to do in these last (two weeks). So, I'm excited. I just feel lucky that I'm over here and they're given me an opportunity and showed me somethings that are helping me out."

Grossman, 32, had an .826 OPS in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, then signed with Detroit and had 23 homers, 67 RBIs and a respectable .772 OPS in 2021.

This year, though, was a disaster in Detroit. Grossman had a .595 OPS, two homers and 23 RBIs before the Tigers shipped him to the Braves ahead of the trade deadline for a minor-league pitcher.

The Braves figured Grossman could help in a platoon. They liked him hitting from the right side, where he still was above-average, even during this disastrous season in Detroit. But just 12 games into his Braves career, defending World Series champion Atlanta figures it might have more than that. In his first 11 games with the Braves, Grossman had a .965 OPS, and was 6-for-18 batting left-handed, which included home runs on back-to-back days — thanks to a fast-acting analytics staff, a hitting coach and Grossman, himself.

"The guy's got to buy in, too," Braves manager Brian Snitker told The Athletic.

"I guess when you present good information, it's hard not to."

Grossman is the latest ex-Tigers hitter to find success shortly after his leaving Detroit this year, joining Isaac Paredes, who was traded late in spring training and caught fire in a big way with the Tampa Bay Rays. It brings into question the Tigers' analytics efforts, which have lagged behind the rest of baseball for years but made strides in recent years under general manager Al Avila, who was fired by Christopher Ilitch this month.

Even Justin Verlander, so good for so long in Detroit, credited Houston's analytics efforts for helping him improve after he was traded in 2017.

Torkelson's tough times

It's been a little over a month since the Tigers demoted former No. 1 overall pick Spencer Torkelson, and Torkelson continues to have his ups and downs at Triple-A Toledo.

In 99 at-bats entering play Saturday, he had an OPS of just .702, with four homers and 12 RBIs. During one recent three-game stretch, he had six hits. But in the eight games before that, he had only two.

Tigers manager AJ Hinch hasn't spoken directly to Torkelson, though they've been in touch over text.

"I sent him a clip of hitting that I wanted him to watch," Hinch said.

What kind of clip?

"I'd have sent it to you if I wanted you to see it," Hinch said. "That's personal."

"I've talked to the coaches more than I've talked to Tork," Hinch continued. "I think he's taking his day-to-day that he's done in the cage and trying to take it to the field. But right now, he's just accumulating at-bats and trying to get back to being the offensive profile that we expect."

Torkelson, 22, hit just .197 with a .282 on-base percentage and .577 OPS with Detroit this season, before Tigers management finally and mercifully demoted him after the All-Star break.

Sign of things to come?

A day later, and Hinch was just as impressed with Matt Manning's performance Friday night.

"This kind of short stint here has been what we've wanted him to do for this entire season," Hinch said. "He was gonna hopefully take the leap that Tarik (Skubal) did last year and what Casey (Mize) did last year.

"Hopefully, it's a sign of things to come."

Manning, 24, the No. 9 overall pick in 2016, has made just six starts this season with the Tigers, limited most of the year by a shoulder injury. He made two starts in April, and now four in August.

Against the Tampa Bay Rays on Aug. 7, he threw seven scoreless innings. Then, on Friday against the Los Angeles Angels at Comerica Park, he allowed one run on three hits in seven innings in a 1-0 loss.

Manning, the lanky right-hander, baffled the Angels on basically two pitches, the fastball and slider.

"He's healthy, so that brings confidence," Hinch said. "Confidence brings good performance.

"It's been good to see."

Around the horn

Catching up on some Tigers injury notes, from Hinch:

► Right-hander Rony Garcia (shoulder inflammation) is "likely out for the year." "There's nothing to do about it other than rest," Hinch said. "No surgery, nothing other than time is gonna solve his inflammation."

► Rookie right-hander Beau Brieske is expected to make another appearance or two in the second half of September, either in Detroit or on a rehab stint in the minors.

► Veteran outfielder Austin Meadows (strained Achilles') continues to do his rehab work in Detroit, including lifting, running, getting treatment and hitting. "Just not a ton of stuff on the field," Hinch said.

Angels at Tigers

► First pitch: 1:40 Sunday, Comerica Park, Detroit

► TV/radio: BSD/97.1

SCOUTING REPORT

► RHP Shohei Ohtani (10-7, 2.69), Angels: Sho-time is back in Detroit, with the two-way sensation taking the mound at Comerica Park. He's 2-0 in three career starts against the Tigers, with a 1.42 ERA.

► LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (1-3, 4.38), Tigers: This is an intriguing pitching matchup on a couple of fronts. Rodriguez makes his first start since mid-May, after leaving the team for months for a personal matter.

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tpaul@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @tonypaul1984