Rangers ex Neftali Feliz finds his velocity in Detroit

If Neftali Feliz wasn’t the happiest player in the Detroit Tigers’ clubhouse Friday, he was at least in the top three.

The smile on his face and his willingness to speak with the media was a vast departure from his last few seasons with the Texas Rangers, who designated him for assignment July 3 amid a failed trial as closer and the long-running belief that he wasn’t committed enough to his day job.

Quickly swooped up by Detroit, Feliz hasn’t pitched particularly well, but his fastball velocity has returned to the upper 90s as has the confidence in his right arm more than three years removed from Tommy John surgery.

He will forever be linked to the best and worst moments in Rangers history. The best was striking out Alex Rodriguez to send the Rangers to the 2010 World Series. The worst was blowing a save in Game 6 of the 2011 World Series, needing only one strike to clinch the title.

But six weeks after his departure from the Rangers, Feliz admitted he needed a fresh start.

“At some point, yeah, I needed a fresh start,” said Feliz, who debuted in 2009 at Oakland with multiple 100-mph fastballs. “I love everybody, the players and the fans. But for my career I needed to go to a new team.”

Feliz’s fastball since joining the Tigers has averaged 95.1 mph, more than a mph faster than in his time with the Rangers this season. He flashed 98 mph with the Rangers in May during a save at Tampa, but he shows it regularly with the Tigers.

The elbow injury in 2012 derailed his career, and he blamed the decision to turn him into a starter for his injury. But he did concede that he also might have been injured had he remained in the bullpen.

“But it isn’t bad,” he said. “I feel 100 percent now, and I’ll try to keep working and try to be in shape and be ready for next year.”

Choice traded

Arlington resident Michael Choice was traded to the Cleveland Indians for cash considerations three days after being designated for assignment.

The move wasn’t unexpected. Choice was a former first-round pick who had success throughout the Oakland farm system before a rough rookie season with Texas in 2014 and an up-and-down performance this year at Triple A Round Rock.

He was worth a flyer for the Indians.

“Guys come at different paces,” general manager Jon Daniels said Tuesday. “We would have liked to see it pan out. The right-handed power would have been a good fit for us. It didn’t play out that way, not for a lack of effort, but we didn’t consider him an option here this month.”

Choo vs. Odor

The Rangers have had success with Shin-Soo Choo and Rougned Odor batting second, but Choo has been there the past 12 games as manager Jeff Banister prefers on-base percentage over speed.

Choo has reached base in 26 straight starts. He gives the Rangers a better chance of having a batter on base ahead of Prince Fielder, Adrian Beltre and Mitch Moreland, and is less of a threat to steal second and leave an open base for a pitcher to work around the middle of the lineup.

“It’s about getting on in front of Prince, Beltre and Moreland, and still having the damage plus the speed element at the bottom,” Banister said. “We’ve scored some valuable runs from the bottom of our lineup.”

Odor entered Friday with a .333 average (7 for 21) over his past six games, while batting either seventh or eighth.

Briefly

▪ Rangers great Ivan Rodriguez has been elected to the Latino Baseball Hall of Fame and will be inducted Dec. 5 in the Dominican Republic. “He’s a Hall of Famer, period,” Banister said. “He’ll be in a lot of Halls of Fame when it’s all said and done.”

▪ Left-hander Derek Holland, an Ohio native who is a lifelong Michigan fan, visited the Ann Arbor campus for a tour of the facilities and a meeting with football coach Jim Harbaugh. Holland said he plans to return there Saturday.

This story was originally published August 21, 2015 at 6:57 PM with the headline "Rangers ex Neftali Feliz finds his velocity in Detroit."