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Detroit Tigers' Eddys Leonard does not care where he plays. Just put him in the lineup
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- Detroit Tigers' Eddys Leonard does not care where he plays. Just put him in the lineup
LAKELAND, Fla. — In the Detroit Tigers clubhouse, I asked Eddys Leonard a simple question: "What are you working on defensively?"
"I'm working at shortstop mostly because this is my first position," Leonard said.
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"What other positions can you play?" I asked.
"All of them," he said, confidently.
There was no smile. He wasn't joking. He was dead serious.
"Yeah, I can play everywhere," he said. "Second, short, third, center, left, right — I don't care."
"Have you ever played first?" I asked.
"If they want me to, I will — I don't care."
A few days later, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told a similar story with the same point.
"Super fun personality," Hinch said. "I asked him of all the positions that he's played, what's his favorite position? And he said, 'lineup,' and he meant it. He said, 'I don't care where you play me. You can play me anywhere on the field. The lineup matters.'"
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So, ladies and gentlemen, I introduce you to Eddys Leonard, a guy who plays "lineup."
He'll go anywhere you want, do anything you want, just get him on the field.
Leonard, 23, is an incredibly athletic, talented, charismatic, versatile prospect who just wants to play. So, give him credit for his attitude and desire.
"He'll predominantly gets some infield reps," Hinch said. "Hits the ball really hard. Very excitable player, big personality. You'll see him at second, short, third, probably center."
Dodgers ' loss is Tigers' gain
OK. Maybe you don't know much about Leonard.
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The Tigers acquired him at a crazy time, getting him last summer at the trade deadline around the time they traded Michael Lorenzen to the Phillies for Hao-Yu Lee and failed to trade Eduardo Rodriguez — OK, yep, that one still stings.
In the midst of those moves — and non-moves — the Los Angeles Dodgers were also busy, bolstering their team with a trade that turned into a complicated game of dominoes. After the Dodgers added Lance Lynn and reliever Joe Kelly from the White Sox , the Dodgers needed a space on their 40-man roster. So they designated Leonard for assignment, then traded him to the Tigers for cash.
Whew.
That's the long way of saying something important: the Dodgers are so deep sometimes they have to cast off talented prospects.
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"First off, he impacts the ball," Hinch said. "Hits the ball hard, hits the ball a lot. It's been about the strike zone for him. One of the reasons that we put them on the roster was his versatility and he can hit the ball with some authority."
As an added bonus, Leonard has a tremendous reputation as a great teammate and worker; and he has a locker next to Andy Ibáñez .
"He's a cool guy," Ibáñez said. "He's a cool dude. I mean, he talks a lot and chats a lot. He also likes to pick my brain and try to improve. We talk a lot about about baseball, and that's pretty fun."
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Once a Loon, now a Tiger
Leonard has been in pro ball since 2018 but he has taken a crazy journey to this point.
Detroit Tigers infielder Eddys Leonard during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024.
He was born in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic and started playing at a baseball academy when he was 14, staying there for two years.
"We stayed in dorms — maybe 12 people in a room," he said. "When you are in the academy, you have to grow up fast, because you want to sign."
He stayed at the academy Monday through Friday and went home on the weekends.
Two years later, he signed with the Dodgers for $200,000, according to Leonard.
"I made my mom a house," he said. "That's the first thing I did when I signed. We had two houses, like smaller, and I made just one. She was really, really happy. That was the goal and we made it."
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He climbed slowly through the Dodgers' system, and he actually has some familiarity with Michigan.
From 2019-2022, he played 168 games for the Great Lakes Loons, the Dodgers High-A affiliate in Midland, hitting .273 with 23 homers.
But he stalled out at Double-A for the Dodgers.
When he was designated for assignment, he was stunned.
"It was hard because I was like, dang, I never been through that," he said. "But I say, OK, I trust in God that I'm gonna be in a better place."
A few days later, he was a Tiger.
The Tigers moved him to Triple-A Toledo, where they seemed to use him everywhere: 17 games at short, 10 in center, four at second, three in left and two at third.
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"One of the questions that we have about him is how much can he control the strike zone and make them bring it over the plate," Hinch said. "He's a swing-first type of mentality, which is good when you get a good pitch to hit. It's not when they tease you as you get to the upper levels into the big leagues.
Detroit Tigers infielder Andre Lipcius talks to infielder Eddys Leonard during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024.
"He's got some work to do as he gets to more established pitchers and as guys are able to exploit weaknesses a little bit more," Hinch said. "But, man, he swings the bat with some authority."
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Already this spring, he has made a positive impression.
In the Grapefruit League opener on Saturday in Lakeland , Leonard showed off his bat, driving in the final two runs with a two-out, bases-loaded double to finish 2-for-3 with three RBIs.
On Sunday against the Tampa Bay Rays , Leonard showed off his range and athleticism. Playing shortstop, he went far to his left, snagging the ball behind second base and threw out Osleivis Basabe at first.
But that's exactly how Leonard wants it. Just getting on the field.
That's his favorite spot.
Just being in the lineup.
Contact Jeff Seidel at jseidel@freepress.com or follow him @seideljeff .
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To read Seidel's recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' Eddys Leonard: Don't care where I play, just put me in
