The 2015 MLB season is officially underway and hope is high for each team as a new year begins. Several teams had very active offseasons and the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins were certainly two of them. After falling short once again in the postseason, the Tigers are trying to switch things up in order to get momentum going in the right direction. However, Justin Verlander will not be getting that started for the first time in 2007.
Verlander has been a mainstay as the Tigers' Opening Day starter, but 2015 will be different. Thanks to an injury to his triceps, Verlander will be on the bench and David Price will be taking the mound on Monday. While an injury is being used as the excuse, there is no doubting the Tigers' pitching rotation has some question marks. After Max Scherzer left for the Washington Nationals, Price and Verlander are the highlights. Verlander is coming off a 15-12 season with a 4.54 ERA while Price did not exactly get his Detroit tenure off to a great start either following a mid-season trade.
Injuries are an issue to start the season for Detroit. Victor Martinez underwent offseason surgery after tearing his right meniscus in the spring. He will be available to DH, but that is it. Miguel Cabrera is in the same boat after having surgery to remove bone spurs from his ankle while also healing a stress fracture in his foot. Both players represent the power in the Detroit lineup and will be critical towards success in 2015. Those pair with Verlander's triceps issue which apparently is getting credited for his struggles most of last year as well.
The Tigers will face the Twins on Opening Day who are hoping a few offseason moves gets the team moving after they have lost at least 92 games in each of the last four systems. They have one of the best farm systems in all of baseball which might start to show itself in 2015. Phil Hughes will get the Opening Day start while veterans like Torri Hunter will be getting the starting nod over several top prospects. However, Minnesota is beginning their season with some controversy. Offseason signee Ervin Santana was just suspender for 80 games after testing positive for steroids. That leaves a big void in the pitching rotation that must be filled.
