Sterling Heights — Newspaper publisher Gannett Co. announced Tuesday it plans to cease operations in August at the Sterling Heights plant that prints The Detroit News and Free Press.

Gannett plans to move printing of The News, Free Press and other publications to other presses in Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee or Illinois, the company said. The facility employs 115 workers, who were notified of the change on Tuesday.

The decision by Gannett, which owns the Free Press, comes as the newspaper industry increasingly emphasizes online products.

“As our business becomes increasingly digital, we are making strategic decisions to ensure the future of local journalism,” Gannett spokesperson Lark-Marie Antón said in an emailed statement. “We deeply appreciate the many years of service our valued colleagues have dedicated to our Detroit facility and the local community.”

MediaNews Group, owner of The Detroit News, doesn’t expect any disruptions for customers.

“The Detroit News will continue serving our readers with our daily print and online editions and does not expect any impact on our readers from this decision by Gannett to close its local printing plant,” said Gary Miles, The News’ editor and publisher.

In addition to The News and Free Press, the Sterling Heights plant at 6200 Metropolitan Parkway prints the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Toledo Blade and 27 smaller papers in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan, including the Oakland Press and Macomb Daily.

The News and Free Press are separately owned, but their business functions are combined and managed by the Detroit Media Partnership, also known as Michigan.com, which is operated by Gannett under a joint operating agreement.

In 1971, the Evening News Association, which owned The News from its founding in 1873 until its sale to Gannett in 1986, built the six-story, 480,000-square-foot Sterling Heights plant. Gannett retained ownership of the plant when it purchased the Free Press in 2005 and sold The News to MediaNews Group.

In 2023, Cleveland-based Industrial Commercial Properties LLC bought the plant from Gannett, which retained ownership of the presses and continued to lease the building.

At the time, senior vice president of Gannett Publishing Operations Wayne Pelland said, “Gannett has a long-term lease agreement with the property at 6200 Metropolitan Parkway, with no intention to move.”

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The Detroit Tigers were expected going into the offseason to try to make a huge splash in free agency after their unlikely playoff run.

Trailing the final Wild Card spot by 9.5 games in late August, the Tigers went on one of the most impressive stretches in franchise history in order to make the playoffs before eliminating the Houston Astros and coming within a game of their first ALCS appearance in a decade.

After the young core proved firsthand they are not far away from contending, the hope was ownership may be willing to make a huge investment in the roster and try to make a move to put them over the top.

Of course, the big hope in the area of a splash was the possibility of stealing away Astros third baseman Alex Bregman to not only fill a need in the lineup and on defense, but to bring in a veteran presence with a winning mentality. While Bregman still remains unsigned and Detroit still is in the equation, there’s another option out there who would come at a significantly cheaper number than Bregman.

One of the names the Tigers were connected to early on in free agency and has gone quiet since is San Diego Padres Gold Glove infielder Ha-Seong Kim.

Winning the Gold Glove in 2023 in the utility role for his services not only at shortstop but at second and third base as well, Kim is a versatile defender who will provide elite defense no matter which position you stick him at.

Following the signing of Gleyber Torres and announcement of Colt Keith moving over to first base, the right side of the infield appears to be pretty well set. It’s the left side where Kim could prove to be extremely useful.

The combination of Javy Báez and Trey Sweeney will get the first crack at holding down the position, though if things go in the wrong direction there again, Kim – a natural shortstop – could slot in there.

In a more ideal world however, a Sweeney and Báez platoon is able to give at least playable production, Kim would play third base, and Matt Vierling would play a super utility type role.

While Kim would of course raise the overall level of defense in the infield, he could be exactly the type of hitter the lineup is desperate for as well. Being a right-handed bat would obviously help to balance things out, though it’s Kim’s contact that is his bread and butter at the plate.

Kim is an extremely disciplined hitter, ranking above the 90th percentile in whiff rate and in the 96th percentile in walk rate in addition to over the 80th percentile in strikeout rate. He does not take bad swings and is extremely difficult to get out, an asset which would push the Detroit lineup to the next level.

Obviously he does not provide the level of excitement to the fanbase that someone like Bregman would. That being said, the argument can be made that given what each will end up signing for, Kim would be the much better acquisition.