Duque Hebbert agrees to contra...

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — Duque Hebbert, a 21-year-old right-hander, struck out three MLB players on Monday in the World Baseball Classic: Juan Soto, Julio Rodriguez, and Rafael Devers. He also signed a deal with the Detroit Tigers. Until hurling a shutout ninth inning in a 6-1 defeat to the Dominican Republic, Hebbert, of Team Nicaragua, was almost unknown. The Nicaragua national baseball team announced shortly after the game that the 5-foot-10, 170-pound pitcher had signed with the Tigers. According to a source with knowledge of the issue, the Tigers have not formally signed Hebbert, but the two parties have agreed to a minor-league deal. He still needs to write, pass a physical exam, and do additional examinations. It's unknown when Hebbert, who is presently in Miami for the World Baseball Classic, will return to Lakeland. In the ninth inning, Hebbert employed nine changeups, six sliders, two four-seam fastballs, and two sinkers, striking out 14 of 19 batters. His fastball averaged 89.5 mph, his slider averaged 79-80 mph, while his changeup averaged 82-84 mph. In 12 swings, he struck out five times. To open his appearance, Hebbert struck out Soto on three pitches, finishing him off with back-to-back changeups at the bottom of the zone for swinging strikes. He then struck out Rodriguez on a swinging strike with a down-and-away slider. Ultimately, he won a seven-pitch battle against Devers by inducing a swinging strike with another changeup in the bottom of the zone. Manny Machado, who came in after Rodrguez and before Devers, went down 0-2 but doubled on a fourth-pitch slider. Luis Molina, a Tigers scout in Panama and Nicaragua, was in Miami for the Pool D match between Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic at LoanDepot Park. After the game, he approached Hebbert and offered him the deal. Hebbert previously pitched for Tren del Norte in Nicaragua's Liga Nicaragüense de Béisbol Profesional, the country's top professional baseball league. In 21 games as a rookie in that league this winter, he had a 4.71 ERA, 17 walks, and 24 strikeouts over 2823 IP. Hebbert has never been a member of a Major League Baseball team.

This is likely to change in the near future.