Detroit Tigers: Jeimer Candelario primed for strong 2022 season

The Detroit Tigers are putting the finishing touches on their 2022 Spring Training campaign. As they get ready to head north, they are looking ahead to the 2022 regular season and what that may hold for this Tigers team.

For the Detroit Tigers, the expectations should be high for infielder Jeimer Candelario, hoping that he can continue to be a consistent option for the team over at third base. The veteran has been a quality option for the Tigers and will look to continue this in 2022.

Candelario is an integral part of this rebuild. He’s been here since the 2015 season, when he was acquired in a trade with the Chicago Cubs. It’s been an up-and-down period for Candelario since then, but he has seemingly settled in and started to claim his role with the Tigers.

As the team comes out the other side of this rebuild, having Candelario as a reliable veteran and piece of this lineup will be important. The Tigers should hope that he can continue at the same pace he was performing in 2021.

Detroit Tigers infielder Jeimer Candelario needs consistency in 2022.

The 28-year-old infielder still has room to improve, but even staying around the level he was at in 2020 and 2021 would be a good thing. In the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season, Candelario broke out. He slashed .297/.369/.503 with 29 RBI to his credit over the 52 games he saw action in.

He followed that up in 2021 with another good season. He slashed .271/.351/.443 with 64 extra-base hits, 16 of them being home runs, and 67 RBI for the team over 149 games played. He’s sharpened up his defense and also added first base to his resume over the years.

While top prospect Spencer Torkelson is expected to be the one who mans that position, it’s a nice touch of versatility for Candelario to have that ability. The veteran corner infielder may not be chasing down an MVP award or a batting title, but he’s bringing value to the team day in and day out.

The big thing for Candelario in 2022 is to continue this performance. If he can continue to hold things down in the middle of the Tigers lineup as a high-slug guy, the Tigers should be more than happy with his performance.

Though the young guns will likely start filling in the top of the lineup, Candelario will be in that three-six spot as one of the team’s slug guys, looking to drive the ball and manufacture runs for this Tigers team.

Keep an eye on Candelario in 2022 to see how he performs.