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Mark Canha reinvented his approach years ago. Now, Detroit Tigers think he can help young players
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- Mark Canha reinvented his approach years ago. Now, Detroit Tigers think he can help young players
Mark Canha remembers the day.
He went into the Oakland Coliseum, home of the Oakland Athletics , during the 2018 All-Star break. He watched videos of his swing decisions, rather than swing mechanics, for about two hours. From there, he created a plan to be a more productive hitter through a selective approach.
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The plan was to decrease his swing rate.
"I was at the crossroads, and I decided I had to change something," Canha said. "From that point on, I just tried to reinvent who I was and use my head a little bit in how I would make baseball work for me and last in this game."
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MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - SEPTEMBER 16: Mark Canha #21 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrates hitting a grand slam during the eighth inning against the Washington Nationals at American Family Field on September 16, 2023 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Kayla Wolf/Getty Images)
More than five years later, Canha is a valuable baseball player even while preparing for his age-35 season without an All-Star appearance in his nine-year MLB career.
His .364 on-base percentage ranks 23rd among 155 players with at least 2,000 plate appearance from 2018-23 — ahead of, among others, José Ramírez , J.D. Martinez , Max Muncy , Corey Seager , Bryan Reynolds , Matt Olson , Trea Turner , Nolan Arenado , Rafael Devers and Carlos Correa .
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The Detroit Tigers acquired Canha, known for elite swing decisions based on a selective approach, in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday , giving up minor-league reliever Blake Holub . The Tigers will pick up Canha's $11.5 million club option for 2024, which is the final year of his contract.
"Mark is an on-base machine," said Scott Harris, the Tigers' president of baseball operations. "He goes up to the plate with a plan. He grinds out at-bats. He never gives in to pitchers. He makes a ton of contact. He has been one of the biggest on-base threats in our game over the last four or five years, so I think he immediately makes us better that way."
Trading for Canha in November 2023 is a direct product of the changes that he made to his approach in July 2018, midway through his fourth MLB season.
Over his first three seasons, he had a .291 on-base percentage. It was .338 in the first half of Year 4 before he overhauled his approach at the 2018 All-Star break.
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"At that time, I saw myself being an overly aggressive young player," Canha said. "As a young player, you want to impress people, do damage, get extra-base hits and show that you can hit. But I think I was making a lot of cheap outs, getting myself out early in counts and swinging too early in counts. I was getting myself out too many times. I made a decision to swing less."
His swing rate went from 49.9% in 2017 to 44% in 2018 and all the way down to 38% in 2020. He has found consistency just above a 40% swing rate in the past three seasons: 40.6% in 2021, 42.8% in 2022 and 41.5% in 2023.
As he adopted a different style, Canha had to consistently remind himself to follow his newfound approach: Stop swinging at so many pitches and wait for a specific pitch in a specific quadrant of the strike zone, and if that pitch never comes, take the walk . The approach, in the simplest form, is swing at strikes and don't swing at balls.
"I built upon that throughout my career," Canha said. "You have to hit, you have to swing, you have to drive runs in and you have to do a lot of other things, but that was the first step in me figuring everything out in how I was going to re-approach the game."
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Oakland Athletics' Mark Canha watches a three-run double off Los Angeles Angels' Cam Bedrosian during the fourth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2018, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
The Canha approach is what the Tigers want their young players — such as former No. 1 overall pick Spencer Torkelson , who had 31 home runs but a below-average 25% strikeout rate with a 46.3% swing rate — to emulate in 2024. Strengths and weaknesses are individualized, but the Tigers believe general approaches can be contagious. The Canha approach, powered by selective swing decisions, could help accelerate the development of the young players.
That's why the Tigers traded for Canha.
"When you watch a veteran grind out at-bats every day, it's inspiring," Harris said. "When you are able to talk with that veteran about what he was looking for at the plate and what his plan was, it can only help some of our young hitters advance in their careers. We're not putting that all on Mark. We just want Mark to be Mark. Having that type of example, I think, will make us better."
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In 2023, Canha hit .262 with 11 home runs, 49 walks and 79 strikeouts over 139 games with the New York Mets (89 games) and Brewers (50 games).
His 15.6% strikeout rate ranked in the 87th percentile, his 18.3% whiff rate ranked in the 86th percentile, his 23.9% chase rate ranked in the 78th percentile, and his 9.7% walk rate ranked in the 65th percentile.
Canha joined the Brewers at the trade deadline. He hit .287 with five homers and reached base 37.3% of the time ahead of his his fifth trip to the postseason.
"During my time in Milwaukee, it was the first time I ever felt like I was a veteran or a mentor, maybe, to younger players," Canha said. "With the Brewers, I embraced it and liked doing it. I saw the younger guys looking up to me."
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The Brewers, though, weren't planning to pick up his $11.5 million club option and, instead of giving him a $2 million buyout, sought trade partners for Canha's services.
The Tigers were interested. One of Harris' goals for the offseason was to acquire a right-handed hitter who could improve the offense and help young players develop. Canha answered the needs as a right-handed hitting outfielder who is well-respected around the league for his team-first character.
All of that was happening behind the scenes while Canha assumed one of two things would happen: The Brewers would pick up his club option, or he would become a free agent. He didn't even consider the possibility of a trade.
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Canha learned about the trade from the Brewers to the Tigers on Saturday, not long before the rest of the baseball industry, then talked to Harris and manager A.J. Hinch on the phone.
"My agent called me," Canha said. "I think I missed a call or two. I was having a normal Saturday morning, just playing with my kids, and I got the call."
Now, Canha can enjoy the rest of his offseason while looking forward to his upcoming season with the Tigers.
"I'm excited to work with a young group of guys and maybe teach them a thing or two," Canha said. "It's never as hard as it seems to get on top of that mountain, and when you have a young, talented group, that's a hell of a start. I'm glad I'm joining this group."
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Joining the Tigers, Canha — who hasn't been placed on the injured list for anything other than an illness since 2021 — should expect to play almost every day.
He will primarily play the corner outfield positions but can handle first base if needed. He has shown an ability to hit right-handed and left-handed pitchers throughout his entire career, so he doesn't need to be in a platoon role. He will swing at good pitches, flash a little bit of power and, most importantly, lead by example.
Leading by example, more than anything else, is what the Tigers are counting on.
"I'm not overly vocal," Canha said. "I don't try to do anything more than be who I am and hope that rubs off on other players. I think the way I take my at-bats is something that can be contagious. That's something I've noticed over my career."
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Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
Listen to our weekly Tigers show "Days of Roar" every Monday afternoon on demand at freep.com, Apple Podcasts , Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers counting on Mark Canha to spread gospel of selectivity
