To this point, AJ Hinch has swiped the best part of the "blockbuster" trade between the Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros from three years ago. Now, as the Tigers manager, he wants to see the other part of the deal flourish.
That starts with catcher Jake Rogers.
"His tools are really good," Hinch, a former MLB catcher, said Thursday.
On August 31, 2017, the Tigers traded right-hander Justin Verlander, one of the best pitchers in his generation, to Houston — where Hinch was the manager from 2015-19 — for three prospects: Rogers, outfielder Daz Cameron and right-hander Franklin Perez.