Lakeland, Fla. – What if one of the pillars of the Tigers’ next championship-level team is a 28-year-old who was signed as a minor-league free agent after spending seven years slogging in relative anonymity in the Twins’ system?
What if one of the bedrock pieces of this rebuild never hit above .275 in the minor leagues and was projected to be, at best, a super utility player at the big-league level?
What if that player ends up being the Tigers' starting shortstop, a standard-bearer and competitive leader?