Hinch on Jones

[Peter Welch]

[Peter Welch]

It's the same rationale Hinch used about keeping Perez on the roster in May while he was terrible.

I suppose you could argue that Hinch not giving up on Perez has worked out since Perez has been hot in June.

I get it, Hinch doesn't want to be reactionary and wants to give previously productive players time to work out of slumps, but I think it has cost us chances at much-needed wins.  If you want Jones to work on his swing then send him to Toledo to work on it.  I'm pretty sure he'd clear waivers if he was DFA'd so it's silly to worry about somebody else claiming him.

Peter

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From: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com>
Sent: Sunday, June 14, 2026 8:32 PM
To: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Hinch on Jones

 

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[Michael Borshuk]

I just don't understand why Hinch gives some mediocre players such a long leash. Jones's only value is hitting LHP and I think 81AB is a fair sample. Meanwhile, Julks has a .900+ OPS at Toledo with 9 steals. 

I wish there was more urgency for these kinds of changes. They will make 4 transactions with Zack Short so Hinch can tinker but he will reflexively slot Jones into every RH pinch hit opportunity (taking Carp out of games to do so) for a full half season without pausing?

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[Peter Welch]

Hinch seems to be loyal to a fault with some of these guys.  

As you can see in the quote, Hinch admitted to sticking with his platoon matchup plan despite Jones not hitting.  It's a foolish consistency.

It's driving us fans crazy especially when you keep seeing the Tigers having trouble scoring runs and wasting good starting pitching performances.

Peter

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From: Michael Borshuk <michael...@gmail.com>
Sent: Sunday, June 14, 2026 9:12 PM
To: Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com>
Cc: Detroit Tigers e-mail list <detroit...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Hinch on Jones

 

[Peter Welch]

Julks has a 1.063 OPS vs. lefties for Toledo with 3 homers in 43 AB.

Righty-hitting OF Ben Malgeri also has a 1.134 OPS vs. lefties for Toledo with 5 homers in 61 AB.

Both Julks and Malgeri are passable defensive outfielders and both can play CF if needed.

I suppose Hinch's argument would be that Julks, who is 30, has never hit when given the opportunity in the majors (he has .625 OPS in 525 career major league plate appearances) and Malgeri, who is 26, is just a veteran roster filler in the Tigers' minor league system.

Neither is on the 40-man roster so somebody would need to be DFA'd to make room for one of them.

The obvious answer would be to DFA Jones, but I think it's highly unlikely we'll see Julks or Malgeri called up to replace Jones.

Peter

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From: Michael Borshuk <michael...@gmail.com>
Sent: Sunday, June 14, 2026 9:12 PM

To: Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com>
Cc: Detroit Tigers e-mail list <detroit...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Hinch on Jones

[Peter Welch]

Hinch just took out Carpenter for Jones in the top of the 4^th with runners at 1^st and 3^rd and 1 out against lefty reliever Okert, and, of course, Jones struck out swinging on a pitch out of the strikezone.  This is infuriating!  Is Hinch is actively trying to lose?

And, of course, Greene struck out swinging to leave the runners stranded.  Tigers lead 5-3 in the bottom of the 4th.

Peter

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From: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com>

Sent: Sunday, June 14, 2026 9:21 PM
To: Detroit Tigers e-mail list <detroit...@googlegroups.com>

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[Mike Coveyou]

It seems to me that there is a simple way to evaluate the U.S. of Jones in this game:  do you prefer Carpenter facing a left-hander or Jones facing a right-hander (twice)?

Mike Coveyou

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[Peter Welch]

Jones just struck out again against a righty in the 8th on a pitch out of the zone.  At least we've got a 5-run lead and hopefully won't see Jones anymore (unless we score a ton of runs in the 9th, which would be ok).

Carpenter has struggled against lefties, but he never gets enough plate appearances against lefties to try improving against them.  That's my issue with the way Hinch uses him (same with Keith).

Peter

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From: Mike Coveyou <mcov...@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, June 15, 2026 10:47 PM

[Mike Coveyou]

 I really should proof my messages a bit more carefully.  Correction shown below.

On Mon, Jun 15, 2026 at 9:47 PM Mike Coveyou <mcov...@gmail.com> wrote:

It seems to me that there is a simple way to evaluate the use of Jones in this game:  do you prefer Carpenter facing a left-hander or Jones facing a right-hander (twice)?

[Peter Welch]

The problem with taking out Carpenter (or Keith) early (besides Jones being unable to hit) is what if you need Carpenter's lefty bat against a righty reliever later in the game and it's a close game?  

Peter

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From: Mike Coveyou <mcov...@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, June 15, 2026 10:54 PM

[Michael Borshuk]

The other problem is that Jones is just demonstrably terrible this year. 🙂

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[Roger King]

If they insist on keeping Jones around for a while longer, it would probably benefit him just to simply get a start for an entire game against a LH instead of Hinch constantly inserting him in the middle of games, often in key situations.  

Being asked to get that clutch hit when you’re slumping probably adds to the pressure rather than just a full start once or twice a week like the old school days of platooning.

Roger King
El Presidente
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[Peter Welch]

Well, yes, that's what has screwed Hinch's plan: Jones hasn't hit worth a damn this year against lefties but Hinch keeps sticking to the plan, hoping that Jones will "find it" eventually.

Peter

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From: Michael Borshuk <michael...@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, June 15, 2026 11:21 PM

[Peter Welch]

Yes, Jones's playing time is so sporadic and often only as a pinch-hitter.  He actually had a rare 3 plate appearances tonight.

Peter

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From: Roger King <pnag...@pnagency.com>
Sent: Monday, June 15, 2026 11:28 PM
To: Michael Borshuk <michael...@gmail.com>
Cc: Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com>; Detroit Tigers e-mail list <detroit...@googlegroups.com>