Detroit, MI

No Detroit Tigers position players in first wave of All-Star voting, not even Riley Greene

Published

1 year ago

June 17, 2024

No Detroit Tigers position players in first wave of All-Star voting, not even Riley Greene

ATLANTA — The Detroit Tigers don’t have any position players in the running for the 2024 All-Star Game in the first update of balloting, which lists the top 10 players at the five infield positions, 10 players at designated hitter and 20 players in the outfield.

MLB released its first update of fan voting Monday afternoon, but there isn’t a single Tigers player listed among the 80 position players from the American League, not even outfielder Riley Greene.

Twenty position players from each league make the All-Star team, with at least six outfielders. Fans can vote on MLB.com, but Phase 1 of the voting concludes June 27 at noon ET. (Fans cannot vote for pitchers.)

WATCHING HIM GROW UP: After taking the next step, Tigers’ Riley Greene is thinking ‘pure’ at the plate

Greene is by far the Tigers’ best position player, especially with fellow outfielder Kerry Carpenter on the injured list.

“He’s a hell of a player,” said Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal, seemingly on track to be the AL’s starter in the All-Star Game. “I don’t think that embodies him as a player. I’m about as big of a 31 fan as there is. I love the way he does everything. Watch the series he just had, too. That kind of speaks to who he is as a player.”

Other teams in the AL Central have multiple players on the leaderboard, including nine players from the Cleveland Guardians and six players from the Kansas City Royals, though the Minnesota Twins have just one player — shortstop Carlos Correa — on the 80-player leaderboard.

Among AL outfielders, Greene ranks 10th in fWAR (1.9), fifth in wRC+ (133), fifth in OPS (.824), 11th in batting average (.252) and tied for fifth in home runs (14). The 23-year-old, who plays all three outfield positions, also ranks sixth in plate appearances (301) and tied for 10th in games played (70).

“The fans obviously have the power in this to do what they see fit,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “I think Tarik is well-positioned, one way or the other, Jack (Flaherty) has had a really good year, Riley, I would love to see him get some love. It’s not something I pay huge attention to, but it’s fun for the guys and fun for the fans.”

HIM: How Tigers’ Tarik Skubal matured into an Opening Day ace with Cy Young potential

In fWAR, which is the number of wins a player adds to his team compared to a replacement-level player, Greene’s 1.9 trails only Aaron Judge (5.0), Juan Soto (4.5), Kyle Tucker (3.2), Jarren Duran (2.9), Daulton Varsho (2.2), Colton Cowser (2.1), Willi Castro (2.1), Yordan Alvarez (1.9) and JJ Bleday (1.9) on the list of 25 qualified AL outfielders.

Castro played for the Tigers from 2019-22, but he was cut loose alongside third baseman Jeimer Candelario and utility player Harold Castro in November 2022 — exactly two months after Scott Harris took over as the president of baseball operations — because the Tigers didn’t think he was worth paying a projected $1.7 million in his first year as an arbitration-eligible player.

Castro, a 27-year-old switch-hitter who plays infield and outfield, has turned into an above-average player for the Minnesota Twins over the past two seasons, making $3.3 million in 2024.

REMEMBER WILLI? Ex-Tiger Willi Castro: ‘I really appreciate A.J. Hinch’ for instilling versatility

Meanwhile, Greene is hitting .310 with five home runs across his last 18 games, dating to May 29. He set career highs in Saturday’s 13-5 win over the Houston Astros with four hits and six RBIs, delivering his second multi-homer game of the season.

The Tigers selected Greene with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2019 draft. He has never made the All-Star team in his three MLB seasons, hitting a combined .266 with 30 home runs and a .761 OPS in 262 games.

Tarik Skubal, a win-first player

Skubal is the frontrunner to win the AL Cy Young Award. He’s also shaping up to be the AL’s starting pitcher for the 2024 All-Star Game, which is scheduled for July 16 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

But Skubal isn’t focused on the All-Star Game (or the Cy Young Award).

“I’d much rather win a lot of games than be in the All-Star Game,” Skubal said. “That’s kind of how I’ve always felt. I think winning cures everything. Think about every team that wins a World Series. What happens with their guys after that?”

Skubal, 27, has a 2.20 ERA with 16 walks and 98 strikeouts across 86 innings in 14 starts this season. His 2.7 fWAR ranks second among AL pitchers, trailing only Tanner Houck (3.2).

The Tigers have 10 wins in Skubal’s 14 starts.

There hasn’t been an All-Star starting pitcher from the Tigers since Max Scherzer in 2013.

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

Listen to our weekly Tigers show “Days of Roar” every Monday afternoon on demand at freep.com, Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.

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Detroit, MI

EPA wrongly found Detroit area safe for smog, judge rules in split decision

Published

13 minutes ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

EPA wrongly found Detroit area safe for smog, judge rules in split decision

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was wrong to determine Michigan met federal health and environmental standards for ozone pollution or smog in the Detroit area in 2023, a federal appeals court judge has ruled.

U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Helene White on Dec. 5 issued a split decision in a case about how environmental regulators measured Detroit air quality in 2022, when wildfire smoke drifted over Detroit and affected the air quality monitor readings for a few days in June.

Michigan considered those days “exceptional events” because of the wildfire smoke and didn’t include the high ozone pollution readings in its calculation to the EPA.

With those days tossed, the state was able to argue in 2023 that Michigan met federal air quality standards for ground-level ozone pollution. The seven-county Metro Detroit region had previously been out of compliance with the ozone standards.

The Sierra Club sued, arguing the wildfire smoke did not meaningfully change ozone readings and that the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy failed to analyze how local pollution sources contributed to the ozone levels on those days. The environmental advocacy group also challenged the EPA’s finding that the region met federal standards for ozone pollution.

White determined the exceptional events designation was appropriate, siding against the Sierra Club in deciding the EPA and EGLE correctly analyzed the smoke’s impact on ozone readings in June 2022.

She sided against EPA in deciding the EPA was wrong to put Michigan back into attainment for ground-level ozone without Michigan adopting control measures that would cut volatile organic compounds, which contribute to ozone pollution.

EPA determined the Detroit area was out of attainment for ground-level ozone on April 13, 2022. Michigan regulators did not impose control technologies for ozone-causing pollutants by the deadline in early 2023. Instead, they asked EPA to redesignate the area as in attainment with the air quality rules.

Michigan was obligated to implement control technologies even though it had submitted a redesignation request, White said in her order. Control technologies include efforts to reduce volatile organic compounds from being released from manufacturing plants and industrial sources, according to EPA documents.

Sierra Club member and Detroit environmental justice activist Dolores Leonard cheered the outcome of the case.

“Without this victory, EPA’s decisions would have let Michigan avoid the rules needed to reduce pollution and keep the air we breathe safe,” Leonard said. “At a time when asthma rates are rising in Detroit, especially in Black communities, that’s unacceptable. With the backing of this federal court decision, our community will continue to push the state of Michigan to take much-needed action to relieve ozone pollution in this area.”

The Clean Air Act requires those pollution control measures to be implemented even after the EPA puts an area back into attainment to ensure the air quality remains healthy, said Nick Leonard, executive director of Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, which argued the Sierra Club’s case.

White’s order means the EGLE will have to reapply for the attainment of the ozone standard, Leonard said.

“At the very least, I would say they have to correct the legal deficiency, which was that they didn’t enact the pollution control rules that are typically required for areas that are in non-attainment for this long,” he said.

The EPA is reviewing the decision, its press office said. The office did not respond to a question about whether it would ask Michigan to adopt volatile organic compound control measures as a result of White’s decision.

The EGLE also is reviewing the ruling, spokesman Dale George said.

“While EGLE was not a party to the case and is not able to speak in detail about the legal outcome, we were encouraged that the court supported the use of exceptional events demonstrations and acknowledged the sound science behind EGLE’s determination that the Detroit area met the health-based ozone standard,” George said.

Leonard said he was disappointed but not surprised that White ruled against the Sierra Club’s arguments that EGLE and the EPA did not correctly account for wildfire smoke’s impact on ozone readings in 2022.

That issue is going to plague communities as climate change causes northern wildfires to become more common and kick smoke into Michigan, he predicted.

“If we start to essentially cut out bad air quality days because of the claim they were partially influenced by wildfire smoke … , you create this disconnect between the regulatory systems that are meant to protect people and the actual air pollution that people are breathing,” Leonard said.

ckthompson@detroitnews.com

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Detroit, MI

Active saves leader Jansen joining Tigers on 1-year deal (sources)

Published

12 hours ago

December 13, 2025

Press Room

Active saves leader Jansen joining Tigers on 1-year deal (sources)

The Tigers’ bullpen revamp for 2026 now includes an unusual feature for the A.J. Hinch era: A veteran closer. Detroit has reached agreement on a one-year contract with four-time All-Star and 16-year veteran Kenley Jansen, sources told MLB.com.
The deal, which is pending a physical and has not been confirmed

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Detroit, MI

Detroit-area teen charged in carjacking at Applebee’s restaurant bound over to circuit court

Published

1 day ago

December 13, 2025

Press Room

Detroit-area teen charged in carjacking at Applebee’s restaurant bound over to circuit court

December 12, 2025 / 10:59 PM EST
/ CBS Detroit

A 15-year-old boy who is accused of carjacking a woman last month at an Applebee’s in Roseville, Michigan, is heading to circuit court after waiving his preliminary examination, according to the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office.

The teen is charged with one count of carjacking, third-degree fleeing a police officer, two counts of malicious destruction of personal property, assault with a dangerous weapon, assaulting/resisting/obstructing a police officer, operating without a license and failure to stop after a collision.

The teen appeared for a probable cause hearing on Dec. 10 and waived his right to a preliminary examination. He will be arraigned on Jan. 5, 2026.

He remains in at the Macomb County Juvenile Center under a $250,000 cash/surety bond. If he posts bond, he is ordered to wear a GPS tether, be restricted to his mother’s house and have no contact with the victim, witnesses or Applebee’s.

Prosecutors allege that on Nov. 24, 2025, the teen forcibly took a woman’s 2016 Jeep Patriot in the restaurant’s parking lot. The teen took off in the vehicle and crashed it on Gratiot Avenue.

“The allegations and charges in this matter are serious. Carjacking is a violent offense that carries life-altering consequences for victims and offenders alike,” Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido said in a statement. “To the young people of Macomb County, understand that the choices you make today will determine the path available to you tomorrow. We want every youth in this community to succeed, but that starts with stepping away from dangerous decisions before they lead to irreversible outcomes.”