First base could become first priority for Keith as he increases value in Tigers' lineup

DETROIT -- Movie buff Colt Keith could probably relate to the scene in "Moneyball" where Billy Beane, played by Brad Pitt, tries to convince Chris Pratt’s Scott Hatteberg character that shifting to first base is simple, only to be told by Ron Washington that it’s incredibly hard.

On Tuesday night, he took the railing of the visiting dugout to his midsection trying to chase down a fly ball. On Wednesday afternoon, as left fielder Brett Callahan caught Twins rookie Walker Jenkins well off of first base on Luke Keaschall’s fly out, Keith was accidentally caught in a blind spot for Callahan’s throw.

“The ball was directly behind the runner the whole time when he was running back,” Keith said after the Tigers’ 7-2 win Wednesday at Comerica Park. “I went left and I was like, ‘No, that’s not going to work.’ I went right, and that wasn’t gonna work. So I was just like, ‘I’m going to have to just try to body this.’

“He dove, and it went right over him. I don’t even know how I caught it. It just kind of went in my glove. That’s why I kind of jumped, trying to absorb the hit, don’t let it get past me.”

Keith’s feet briefly left the bag as he gathered the ball. The play was close, but replay upheld the safe call. Detroit starter Keider Montero got out of the inning, and Keith looked much more comfortable around the railing when he gathered Brooks Lee’s foul ball in the sixth.

“I made sure to bust it to get to the railing and come back if I needed to,” he said.

In Keith’s defense, he’s not new to first base like Hatteberg was when he joined the A’s in 2002. Keith has 34 games there over the last two seasons, and spent a portion of his offseason training to play there ahead of the 2025 campaign before Spencer Torkelson held down the full-time role. He’s probably more relatable to former Tigers All-Star Carlos Guillén, who moved from third base to first upon Miguel Cabrera’s arrival in 2008, then moved back to third a few weeks later when Cabrera moved from third to first.

As the Tigers’ 2026 season hits the home stretch, Keith is getting another dose of playing time there. Wednesday marked his second consecutive start at first base, and fifth game there in 11 days. Part of that, according to manager A.J. Hinch, is a short-term way to get Keith at-bats while still finding playing time for rookies Kevin McGonigle, Hao-Yu Lee and John Peck on the left side of the infield. But there’s also the obvious question of how the 2027 Tigers' infield might look.

“I don’t want to bury anybody,” Hinch said, “whether a young player or an older player, and you’re balancing that day to day.”

Keith has moved around plenty, from Tigers' rookie second baseman to all-around player last year to corner guy this season. There’s no clear answer where he might play next year, but his left-handed bat will lead him to a spot. Wednesday’s win was a reminder.

Keith has no explanation for why he hits Zebby Matthews so well; he figures he caught him during his hot streaks a couple times. But he’s 5-for-9 off the Twins starter with two doubles and two home runs, both homers coming this year. Wednesday’s first-inning drive off a Matthews changeup put Keith into double-digit homers for the third straight season, a notable feat considering he was homerless for the season until going deep against Matthews on June 11.

“It felt amazing,” Keith said of the two-run homer. “Today was kind of a grind in the cage. I was just trying really hard to get results, and to be able to get one there was awesome. That’s what I needed.”

Keith’s first homer since Aug. 16 also broke him out of a 3-for-32 slide since Aug. 22.

“He has been battling himself,” Hinch said. “He’s trying to stay disciplined with the same approach, but he’s always someone who tends to tinker a little bit, because he always knows what he’s looking for, how he’s trying to feel. To be rewarded with a good swing [was good].

“When he first hit it, I didn’t know if it was going to be high enough. I thought it was going to get over the right fielder’s head. But the home run just settled us in as a team.”