Tigers' Anibal Sanchez: Will prepare for starting role

Sanchez will compete for a starting role in spring training, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

The right-hander struggled throughout 2016, failing to bring his ERA below 4.08 in any month of the season. Those struggles resulted in some yo-yoing between the rotation and the bullpen -- he'd be demoted to relief only to return to a starting role out of necessity. Sanchez's walk and HR/9 rates have gotten progressively worse in recent years, and it's difficult to imagine he will suddenly reverse those trends in his age-33 season. Daniel Norris, Matt Boyd and Mike Pelfrey will be in the mix for rotation spots as well.