New York Yankees @ Detroit Tigers: Deivi García vs. Eduardo Rodríguez

A day after seeing their ace shake off some rust, the Yankees will get back to it with Deivi García on the mound. They’ll send their once-top prospect out to face the Tigers in Lakeland.

García started against the Tigers last week in his first spring outing, and he acquitted himself well enough. He managed a pair of scoreless innings, but perhaps more importantly, he looked to have added velocity on his fastball. It’s a small encouraging sign for a player who struggled mightily the last time we saw him.

Detroit will counter with their big-ticket free agent pitcher Eduardo Rodríguez. The Tigers guaranteed Rodríguez five years after a 2021 season in which he posted a 4.74 ERA, a career worst. But Rodríguez also ran a career-high strikeout rate, and on the whole looked more impressive than his surface stats would indicate.

The Yankees will not travel most of their starters to support García. Gleyber Torres and Anthony Rizzo will try to bring some thump at the top of the card, but the lineup trails off quickly after that. The likes of Miguel Andújar, Tim Locastro, and Ender Inciarte will continue to make their case for inclusion on the Opening Day roster.

How to watch:

Location: Joker Marchant Stadium, Lakeland, Florida

First pitch: 1:05 p.m. ET

TV broadcast: Bally Sports Detroit

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM

Online stream: MLB.tv

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