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Lakeland, Fla. — Jake Rogers, wearing a cowboy hat as he sat in the clubhouse Sunday morning, didn’t need to look up the date.

“July 18, 2021,” he said.

That was the last time he caught in a competitive baseball game. He doubled in four at-bats that day, while helping Wily Peralta, Buck Farmer and Alex Lange stitch nine innings of shutout ball in a 7-0 win over the Twins at Comerica Park.

His start behind the plate Sunday in a Grapefruit League game against the Orioles was his first in 588 days, his first since recovering from Tommy John surgery.

“Been a while,” he said. “I’m excited. I went into AJ (Hinch’s) office this morning and I was like, ‘I’m glad you put me in the nine-hole. That’s my home.’”

To which Hinch said, “He doesn’t have a choice. When you stop hitting you become a manager. Then you can set the lineup (laughter).”

The Rogers-Hinch banter has been among the many things that we’ve missed the last 19 months. Rogers' energy behind the plate is another. He caught five innings in the Tigers' 10-6 exhibition loss, capping his day by hitting an opposite-field home run on an 0-2 pitch.

"It was just overall nerves," he said. "Just being back. But it was definitely good nerves. It was exciting being back and being in a uniform."

BOX SCORE: Spring training: Orioles 10, Tigers 6

The homer came in the bottom of the fifth inning, after he'd sat behind the plate for the Orioles' nine-run barrage in the top of the inning.

"We won't talk about that," Rogers said, laughing.

He came to bat against former Tigers' right-hander Reed Garrett, who quickly painted the outside corner with two four-seam fastballs, both 96 mph.

"He tried to sneak it by me again," Rogers said. "It hit the barrel. Felt great."

Garrett's 0-2 pitch was 96.7 mph and it was actually off the plate, up and away. Impressive that Rogers got to it, clubbing it into the Tigers' bullpen in right.

"It was just nice to see him playing freely," Hinch said. "That was the same guy I remember."

Rogers was using a PitchCom and pitch timer for the first time in actual competition. There was one violation, it came in that fifth inning against Jace Fry. There was a technical malfunction when reliever Chasen Shreve was on the mound, but they remedied that by calling pitches the old-fashioned way, with the fingers.

"AJ said, 'Hey how are you feeling,' and I was like, 'I'm going a million miles and hour,'" Rogers said. "He said we probably set a record for how those innings were going."

Starter Eduardo Rodriguez blew threw his two innings in 23 pitches, 19 strikes, 15 fastballs. Shreve needed just 15 pitches. Rony Garcia used only 12 pitches to get through the fourth, nine strikes.

"He was calling the right pitches and the timing was good," said Rodriguez. "He was just a perfect catcher to be out there with me. He was really good today."

“I’m just ready to go,” Rogers said. “I told AJ I was just so excited, ready to get into the box and get the juices flowing again.”

So, what was with the cowboy hat?

"It was a little scoreboard (picture) thing they were doing with cowboy hats," said Rogers, who grew up in the Texas Panhandle town of Canyon, near Amarillo. "They didn't know what to do with them afterward, so they gave them to me."

Seems right.

Around the horn

Nick Maton and Matt Vierling, two of the players the Tigers acquired from the Phillies for Gregory Soto and Kody Clemens, made successful spring debuts Sunday. Maton homered on his first swing, slamming a 1-0 cutter from Orioles starter Dean Kremer over the wall in right field. Then in the fifth, Vierling launched a low-inside splitter from Garrett and banged it off the foul pole in left.

...It was a tough outing for non-roster lefty Jace Fry. He faced seven hitters in the fifth, recorded just one out, getting charged with six runs.

... Gabe Alvarez, who manages the Tigers’ Double-A affiliate at Erie, is coaching third base for at least the first half of the Grapefruit League season. Gary Jones, who will coach third for the Tigers this season, is still recovering from an offseason knee procedure.

chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @cmccosky

DETROIT -- At 1-6, Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes knew he had to shake things up ahead of the NFL trade deadline.

So, he made an unpopular move to send Pro Bowl tight end T.J. Hockenson to their division rivals, the Minnesota Vikings, in exchange for a 2023 second-round draft pick and a 2024 third-round pick.

Lions coach Dan Campbell viewed the trade as “more food on the table" for the other skill players on offense. And those guys stepped up -- especially the tight ends.

The Lions would go with a committee approach at the tight end position instead of just one clear-cut starter, which resulted in the group ending the season with 12 combined touchdowns, tied for the second most among any NFL team, led by Brock Wright (four), Shane Zylstra (four), Hockenson (three) and James Mitchell (one).

Looking ahead to the 2023 season, the Lions (9-8) will look to build on their first winning season since 2017, which means figuring out what they want to do moving forward.

This offseason, the team hired Steve Heiden as the new tight ends coach following his stint in the same role with the Arizona Cardinals from 2019 to '22. Prior to that, Heiden held various roles with the Cardinals as an assistant special teams/assistant tight ends coach, in addition to serving as the team’s assistant offensive line coach. He joins a number of other former NFL players on Campbell’s staff after playing 11 seasons in the NFL from 1999 to 2009 with the San Diego Chargers and Cleveland Browns.

What will he have to work with? Here’s a closer look at the tight end group ahead of next season.

How did the position perform in 2022?

Given the circumstances, the position group performed to the best of its ability -- on paper, possibly even overachieving. Quarterback Jared Goff frequently displayed trust in his tight ends, which was how they set a franchise record for the most combined touchdowns in a single season from tight ends in Lions history (12).

The Lions also saw three different tight ends finish with a multi-touchdown game in 2022, which was the first time in league history that a team had games of at least two touchdown receptions from three different tight ends in a season. On the one hand, if it isn’t broke don’t fix it, but it's fair to wonder if that production is sustainable going forward.

“It’s a good group, they work hard, they’re where they’re supposed to be and they do a good job getting themselves open, and I’ve been able to find them,” Goff said of the tight end depth during a Dec. 28 practice.

What do the Lions have coming back?

The Lions could very well run it back with the trio of Wright, Zylstra and Mitchell, as they were all signed to reasonable contracts and were highly productive, especially in the red zone, but it seems as if the group needs an upgrade in terms of pure talent to reach the next level. Both Wright and Zylstra are exclusive-rights free agents, meaning the Lions can sign them to one-year, league-minimum deals this offseason.

Mitchell, who was drafted in the fifth round in 2022, will also enter Year 2 of his rookie deal.

It’ll also be interesting to see what Heiden brings to the table on the coaching side and what type of talent he will favor to help an offense that ranked in the top five in points scored per game (25.71).

What should we expect this offseason?

The Lions hold two first-round picks -- No. 6 (via Los Angeles Rams) and No. 18 -- in the upcoming NFL draft, but it's unlikely they’ll use any of their high picks on a tight end, as improving the defense will likely be the top priority. However, they could go in that direction later in the draft on Day 2 or even potentially bring in another free agent to upgrade the position.

The tight end corps was solid after losing Hockenson, but the group still combined for only 40 receptions as a trio, which must improve. The Lions aren’t asking for high-volume pass-catchers but want gritty blockers who can help on the edge in both the run and passing game. Austin Hooper, Hayden Hurst, Evan Engram and Dalton Schultz are some potential veteran free agent targets whom the Lions could chase this offseason.

“We’re always going to be very strategic and selective with our approach,” Holmes said of the free agency plan during his end of the season availability in January. “... Regardless of how many resources you have, how much money you can spend, we’re always are very selective and strategic with how we go about free agency. And that’s upcoming UFAs that are on our team as well as external adds, but it’s always going to be the same approach.”

The Detroit Lions are in a strong position heading into the 2023 NFL Draft, coming off a season where they narrowly missed the playoffs and having two of the first 18 selections and four of the first 55 picks in the draft. This is the type of event that could set the team up for success for the next five years if they get it right.

We used PFF’s Mock Draft Simulator to dig into the best options for restoring the roar in the first round.

Devon Witherspoon led all cornerbacks with a 92.5 PFF coverage grade in 2022, allowing just 22 receptions while recording three interceptions and 14 pass breakups.

Calijah Kancey led all interior defenders with a 92.4 PFF pass-rush grade last season, racking up eight sacks, nine hits and 30 hurries from 275 pass-rushing snaps.

The Lions could form a dangerous edge trio by adding someone like Tyree Wilson in the top 10. He registered eight sacks, 10 hits and 32 hurries from 258 pass-rushing snaps during the 2022 college football season.

Joey Porter Jr. was a force in coverage for Penn State last season, allowing just 15 receptions on 275 coverage snaps and breaking up nine passes.

For one of the top two defensive players to fall to Pick No. 6, four quarterbacks likely need to go in the top five. A few trade-ups from quarterback-needy teams would be required, but it is possible. Will Anderson Jr. produced 207 total pressures on 1,223 pass-rushing snaps across his three seasons at Alabama.

Bryan Bresee would then allow them to address the need on the defensive interior, coming off a season where he produced an 82.0 PFF pass-rushing grade, registering 24 total pressures on 203 pass-rushing snaps.

If I learned anything from the reaction of Lions fans to a suggestion of a trade for Lamar Jackson, it’s that they are big fans of Jared Goff. The reality, though, is that the 2016 No. 1 overall pick has just one season in his NFL career with an 80.0-plus PFF passing grade.

Getting the right quarterback on a rookie deal significantly boosts a team’s chance of success, and we only need to look back to Super Bowl 57 to see the team the Eagles were able to build around Jalen Hurts on his rookie deal.

C.J. Stroud started for two seasons at Ohio State, producing PFF passing grades of 91.5 and 89.0 in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

Detroit Red Wings (28-22-8, 64 points) vs. Ottawa Senators (28-26-4, 60)

When: 7 p.m. Monday.

Where: Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

TV: Bally Sports Detroit Extra.

Radio: WXYT-FM 97.1 (Red Wings radio affiliates).

Game notes: Both franchises have been in the rebuild wilderness for more than a half-decade and hope to emerge this season in the playoffs. Both teams remain in the mix for a wild-card spot, but are in desperate need of wins, which sets up a fun two days ahead of Friday's NHL trade deadline. They'll rematch 24 hours later on the same ice.

At goalie, the Sens' Cam Talbot is 12-14-1 with a 2.90 goals against average and .905% save percentage. The Wings' Ville Husso is 23-14-5 with a 2.83 GAA and .907 SV%. The Wings have a goal differential of minus-5 (179 goals for, 184 against); the Senators are minus-8 (177 GF, 185 GA).

Tim Stützle leads Ottawa's balanced scoring attack with 26 goals among 59 points, Brady Tkachuk has 24 goals and 61 points and Claude Giroux has 23 goals and 54 points. Dylan Larkin leads the Wings with 22 goals among 57 points. ... The Red Wings won the previous matchup vs. the Senators on New Year's Eve in Detroit, 4-2. Ottawa won Dec. 17 in Detroit, 6-3.

BIG 2 DAYS:Wings see opportunity in back-to-back vs. Senators: 'We are treating this like our playoffs'

TRENDING:How Red Wings' playoff push affects Steve Yzerman's plans as trade deadline looms

TIME TO BELIEVE:Red Wings playoff push may be a long time coming, but it's definitely for real

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At least 60,000 Michiganders are entering day five of no power. DTE said 95% of its customers would have power back by Sunday. The other 5% would get their power restored by the end of the day Tuesday. As of 5:50 a.m., 61,942 DTE customers and 1,181 Consumers Energy customers remain without power. Consumers Energy says most customers should see their power restored Monday. But with another winter storm headed our way, one state leader is now calling for hearings in Lansing because he wants an explanation as to why the outages lasted so long. "Consumers Energy, DTE energy have the most amount of outages for longer periods of time than anywhere in the midwest. We pay some of the highest rates in the country, and it's just unacceptable," State Representative Abraham Aiyash said. Representative Aiyash says there's legislation that's already been drafted and it would require power companies to pay it's customers back by the hour and by the day for lost food and vital medication during long-lasting outages.

(WXYZ) — At least 60,000 Michiganders are entering day five of no power.

DTE said 95% of its customers would have power back by Sunday. The other 5% would get their power restored by the end of the day Tuesday.

As of 1:10 p.m., 64,719 DTE customers and 1,573 Consumers Energy customers remain without power. Consumers Energy says most customers should see their power restored Monday.

But with another winter storm headed our way, one state leader is now calling for hearings in Lansing because he wants an explanation as to why the outages lasted so long.

RELATED: Detroit Weather: Winter weather advisory issued for parts of SE Michigan today

"Consumers Energy, DTE energy have the most amount of outages for longer periods of time than anywhere in the midwest. We pay some of the highest rates in the country, and it's just unacceptable," State Representative Abraham Aiyash said.

Representative Aiyash says there's legislation that's already been drafted and it would require power companies to pay it's customers back by the hour and by the day for lost food and vital medication during long-lasting outages.

"We recognize there was a storm, but the fact of the matter is other parts of the state had a storm that have different providers. Other parts of the region had storms, but the outages were not as bad and as widespread. I think this speaks to the years and years of lack of proper investment in our grid," he said.

Aiyash says he's also writing a letter to the Michigan Public Service Commission requesting they impose fines and or request DTE to repay customers for their losses.

In a statement to 7 Action News DTE says, "The DTE storm response team has restored power to more than half a million customers, and is laser-focused on restoring all customers who remain without power. We completely understand the frustration of being without electricity and we will continue to work with state and local leaders on our shared goals of continuing to improve reliability, deliver cleaner energy, while maintaining affordability for our customers."

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