Tigers-Yankees Spring Opener Focuses on Pitching Depth at Steinbrenner Field

Keider Montero is starting today, Saturday, February 21, 2026, for the Detroit Tigers in their Grapefruit League opener against the New York Yankees. The right-hander gets the nod for the first game of spring training, which begins at 1:05 PM ET.

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	The newly unveiled Tigers alternate jerseys were the product of nearly two years of research, surveys and testing. One of the groups surveyed was Tigers players themselves.
	Tigers-Yankees Spring Opener Focuses on Pitching Depth at Steinbrenner Field Dusty Schoenherr - Sports Tell Us Detroit News Tampa, FL - The Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees opens their Grapefruit League schedules Saturday at George M. Steinbrenner Field with their first spring meeting, but the game began with more evaluation than drama as both clubs used the day to run a long look at their depth and pitching plans for 2026. Detroit gave the ball to right-hander K. Montero, while New York countered with right-hander C. Lagrange, in a matchup that underscored how both teams are balancing established stars with arms trying to solidify roles heading into the regular season. For the Tigers, this day is as much about seeing how their emerging core carried over last year’s momentum as it was about the final score, with a lineup built around Riley Greene and an offense that averaged 4.7 runs per game in 2025 getting its first live test of the spring. New York, coming off a season in which it led the American League with 5.2 runs per game and 274 home runs, again featured Aaron Judge as the centerpiece of a power-heavy order and used the spring opener to cycle through a deep group of position players and relievers. Both clubs enter the day emphasizing pitching depth after posting nearly identical team earned-run averages in 2025 — 3.95 for Detroit and 3.91 for New York — and the early innings reflected that focus as the starters worked primarily on fastball command and pitch sequencing rather than pitch counts alone. Detroit’s staff continues to be fronted by left-hander Tarik Skubal, who finished with a 2.21 ERA and 241 strikeouts last season, while the Yankees remain anchored by Max Fried, who posted a 2.86 ERA and 19 wins, though both aces are being brought along gradually and were not scheduled to start this first matchup. Spring or not, the matchup still carries some intrigue after the Tigers’ 84–62 finish and postseason appearance last year and the Yankees’ 80–65 mark in a tight American League East race, with players on both sides acknowledging that a clean first impression matters even in February. With a long slate of Grapefruit League games still ahead, Saturday’s contest serves mostly as a baseline — a first look at how the Tigers’ developing lineup and the Yankees’ veteran-heavy roster stack up as both clubs begin the climb toward Opening Day.