What Detroit Tigers' Eddys Leonard learned from Yadier Molina in Dominican Winter League

Detroit Tigers infielder Eddys Leonard participated in the Dominican Winter League to make up for missed time from two injuries in Triple-A Toledo during the 2024 season.

The 24-year-old, still awaiting his MLB debut after two seasons at the Triple-A level, received lessons from several notable names while playing for Aguilas Cibaeñas in the Dominican Republic.

He learned from manager Yadier Molina, a former 19-year MLB catcher and a (very likely) future Hall of Famer who spent his entire playing career with the St. Louis Cardinals. He also learned from assistant coaches Rafael Furcal and Carlos Gómez, both former MLB players with All-Star credentials.

"Every time you play winter ball, you're going to work on something," said Leonard, who competed in 12 games for Aguilas Cibaeñas. "I had a lot of people around me, and I was asking a lot of questions, like, 'How can I get better,' and that helped me a lot."

Leonard — whom the Tigers acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers in an August 2023 trade — became a free agent Nov. 22 after being designated for assignment, but he returned to the Tigers on Nov. 23 by signing a minor league contract with a non-roster invitation to spring training. Although Leonard isn't on the 40-man roster anymore, he remains in pursuit of his MLB debut within the Tigers' organization.

"I think I have a really good chance with the Tigers," Leonard said. "That's why I came back."

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In the offseason, Leonard played in the Dominican Winter League from Oct. 20 through Dec. 1. He hit .167 with six walks and six strikeouts across 12 games, spending one game at second base, one game in left field and the other 10 games at designated hitter.

Leonard, a right-handed hitter, didn't participate in winter ball last offseason, but he returned to winter ball this offseason because he lost nearly half of the 2024 season.

A pair of injuries limited him to 67 games in Triple-A Toledo, in which he hit .263 with 10 home runs, 17 walks and 74 strikeouts. (Before the season, he hit .333 with two home runs, three walks and four strikeouts across 18 games in spring training.)

On April 7, he suffered a left oblique strain.

He didn't return until June 4.

"I think I was turning to the left side too quick," said Leonard, who strained his oblique while swinging. "The cold (weather) was there at the beginning of the season. I think that's why I got hurt."

On June 25, he suffered a right hamstring strain.

He didn't return until Aug. 2.

"I think my hydration wasn't really, really good," Leonard said. "That's one of the main things."

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The injuries were setbacks in his goal of making his MLB debut, especially the left oblique strain in early April. Had he been healthy, the Tigers might have chosen Leonard instead of outfielder Wenceel Pérez as the replacement for injured infielder Andy Ibáñez.

But the injuries also led Leonard to the Aguilas Cibaeñas in the Dominican Winter League, allowing him to learn from coaches like Molina, Furcal and Gómez and players like Starlin Castro, Juan Lagares, Jonathan Villar.

All six of those coaches and players have significant MLB experience.

"I asked them a lot of questions," Leonard said. "I was always asking a lot of questions. How do you prepare on defense? How do you prepare when you're taking batting practice? They told me I have to prepare every year and work hard."

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Having Molina as a manager was intense.

"Yadi is not easy to have," Leonard said. "You might think, 'Oh, I'm a prospect' or 'Oh, I'm a big leaguer,' but if you're not doing your job, you're not going to play. He just wants to win."

Molina also instilled a championship mindset.

Aguilas Cibaeñas started the regular season with a 2-7 record. The poor start led to the firing of manager Manny García, as well as the hiring of Molina as the new manager. Aguilas Cibaeñas finished the regular season with a 28-22 record.

The team went 26-15 with Molina as the manger.

"It's not how you start; it's how you finish," Leonard said. "When Yadi came, he said, 'I don't care where we are right now — the season starts now.' We had to go out there, play as hard as we could, and then win. Everyone decided to do that. We didn't care if we lost today. The next day, we had to reset our mind and win."

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Having Furcal as an assistant coach taught Leonard valuable lessons about defense, hitting and base running. He shared a key base-running tip about being on first base: staying aggressive is essential to advancing more often in the future.

It's all about being ready to run.

"When you are on first base, you have to always think about the pitching throwing the ball in the dirt," said Leonard, who has nine steals in 13 attempts over 107 games in his Triple-A career. "If you always have that in your mind, you might have a chance to go to second base easier."

Looking ahead, Leonard will report to spring training with the Tigers. He projects to start the season in Triple-A Toledo, but his goal is to make the Opening Day roster.

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On offense, Leonard hits the ball extremely hard but chases too many pitches outside of the strike zone. On defense, he has recent experience at shortstop, second base, third base, right field and center field. His bat has the power potential to help the Tigers, especially if he makes better swing decisions, and his glove features defensive versatility to fill almost any role.

"I don't care where I play," Leonard said. "I just want to be in the lineup and help the team win."

He could make his MLB debut in 2025.

"I work every year to get better at something," Leonard said. "I want to get better in my defense and my offense, and then first of all, I want to stay healthy. That's one of the main things — stay healthy to get there and do my best."

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers' Eddys Leonard learned from Yadier Molina in winter league