Romine, Perez learning to play first base for 'insurance'

Lakeland, Fla. – The scene was comical.

There was Alan Trammell and Omar Vizquel, with 4,848 Major League games at shortstop between them, standing behind first base during batting practice trying to tell Andrew Romine (119 games played at short) how to play first base.

"And then (Josh) Wilson came over (232 games played at short)," Romine said. "So there's four shortstops standing there talking about, 'I don't know, what do you think? What do you think we do at first base? I don't know. Just catch it.'

"That's what it turned into, just catch the ball."

Romine and fellow infielder Hernan Perez, along with catcher Alex Avila, were at Tigertown early, well before the Tigers beat Florida Southern 12-2 in the annual exhibition dress rehearsal Monday, taking reps at first base under the instruction of an actual first baseman – Wally Joyner.

The reason – as insurance in case Miguel Cabrera, recovering from ankle surgery, is not ready to start the regular season on time. Romine played second and first Monday. Perez played short, second and left field. Romine is expected to start at shortstop Tuesday against the Orioles and in left field on Wednesday in Sarasota.

They are in a battle to replace Don Kelly as the team's super-utility sub.

"We are going to move those guys around," manager Brad Ausmus said. "We have to see what they can do at other positions. The problem is, you can put them out there for three innings and they might not get a ball hit to them.

"We are trying to do it enough so they get some action and some sort of comfort level."

Romine, who doesn't care where he plays as long as he doesn't pitch (like he did last year), didn't bring a first baseman's mitt to camp. Initially, Ausmus lent him his.

"Yeah, Brad said I could use his but look at it," Romine said, pulling a vintage Cooper first baseman's mitt. "It's like from 1960. I was kind of going like this (flopping it around) and (first baseman Aaron) Westlake was like, 'You want to use mine?'

"But playing first wasn't any more unusual than any other position in the first game back in the spring. ... Tram said I was athletic enough to handle it. Just catch it, don't get stepped on and we'll work from there."

The good news – probably for both the Tigers as well as Romine and Perez – is that Cabrera is mending nicely. He took batting practice on the field before the game and was stinging the ball.

"It's getting there," he said afterward.

Also, designated hitter Victor Martinez, another first base candidate, joined the team Monday, ran on the anti-gravity treadmill and took 30 swings off the tee from both sides of the plate.

His recovery from knee surgery, though not as far along as Cabrera's, is on schedule, as well.

'Felt great'

As for the game itself, it was, as Ausmus said before the game, a nice "rite of spring."

"It's not a bad idea for us to go out and play a team like Florida Southern, just to get a look at live game situations," he said. "It was good. Guys had good at-bats. Pitchers, for the most part, threw the ball well. We saw some action in the field, saw some ball off the bat. It serves a good purpose."

Despite the Tigers being walked seven times and hit twice by a flock of Moccasin pitchers, there were some productive moments.

Most notably, Jose Iglesias saw his first real game action since he was shut down with stress fractures in both legs last Feb. 27.

"It just felt great to be back in the uniform," he said. "I was really excited, so really happy."

He grounded to first in his only at-bat and fielded a routine pop-up to end the first inning before being removed from the game. He was asked if it was just like riding a bike.

"Not quite," he said. "It's fun. It's baseball. But eventually I'm going to get my rhythm back when I get some more games and stuff like that. Otherwise, it's a great feeling to be back out there.

"Just being in the uniform is amazing."

Iglesias won't play Tuesday against the Orioles, Ausmus said.

"I would love to play in every single game," Iglesias said. "But I've got to be smart about it and take it step by step."

Game notables

Some other points of interest:

* The Tigers parlayed a walk and two infield singles into a six-run fourth inning against the Moccasins. An RBI double by James McCann was the big blow.

* Right-hander Tim Melville, featuring two different curve balls and a slider, retired all six batters he faced, striking out two.

* Buck Farmer, Angel Nesbitt, Joe Mantiply and Jose Valdez pitched impressive scoreless innings. Farmer struck out two of the three he faces, topping 94 mph on the radar gun. Nesbitt also fanned two of three with a fastball ranging from 94 to 97 mph. The velocity winner, though, was Valdez, who struck out the side and hit 98.

* Outfielder Wynton Bernard had a big day for the Tigers, knocking in two runs with a single and a double. Steven Moya had an RBI single.

* Minor league catcher Arvicent Perez, who was brought to camp only after catcher Grayson Greiner split his finger during a bullpen session, had two singles.

The Moccasins did manage to score against the Tigers for the first time in 2012. They got two off left-hander Kyle Ryan in the third inning. Jhalen Jackson, Florida State's No. 4 hitter, blasted a run-scoring double.

"He was leaving his two-seamer up," Ausmus said. "When he got it down he was fine."

Twitter@cmccosky