Detroit, MI
Detroit Tigers suffer rash of injuries to infielders throughout organization
PITTSBURGH — The Detroit Tigers continue to be one of the healthiest teams in baseball.
But the infield depth has taken a hit.
Triple-A Toledo shortstops Ryan Kreidler and Eddys Leonard — both right-handed hitters and members of the 40-man roster — have been sidelined with injuries. Kreidler suffered a right index finger fracture; Leonard suffered a left oblique strain.
IN THE BIGS: Tigers place Andy Ibáñez on injured list, promote Wenceel Pérez for MLB debut
The injuries occurred in a span of three days in games with the Mud Hens.
The two injuries in the minor leagues impacted the Tigers at the big-league level when Andy Ibáñez, a right-handed hitting infielder, landed on the injured list Monday with a left hamstring strain. Another right-handed hitting infielder would have filled the void, but Kreidler and Leonard weren’t available because of their injuries.
The Tigers already called up switch-hitting outfielder Wenceel Pérez. Outfielder Matt Vierling, to make room for Pérez to get reps in the outfield, is going to play more third base again until Ibáñez returns.
It probably would have been Kreidler instead of Pérez, but Kreidler was hit by a pitch in Thursday’s game and fractured an index finger.
GOING DOWN: Tigers shortstop Ryan Kreidler is headed to Toledo: ‘I should’ve made the team’
The fractured finger marks his third injury issue in the past three seasons. He broke his right hand on a hit by pitch and had surgery in 2022, underwent core muscle surgery in 2023 and broke a finger on his right hand in 2024.
Kreidler, an elite defender at shortstop, had a tremendous spring training, hitting .306 with two home runs, eight walks and 11 strikeouts across 45 plate appearances in 20 games. The 26-year-old has logged 37 games in his MLB career, whereas Leonard is still looking to make his MLB debut.
Leonard, who takes a backseat to Kreidler on defense, also raked in spring training. The 23-year-old hit .333 with two homers, three walks and four strikeouts across 37 plate appearances in 18 games.
Leonard strained his left oblique on a swing in Sunday’s game. He is receiving treatment to reduce the inflammation, and he is scheduled to report to the spring training facility in Lakeland, Florida, to begin his rehabilitation program.
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Here’s the scouting report on both players: Kreidler’s bat is unproven, but he is a wizard on defense; Leonard’s chase rate is concerning, but he hits the ball as hard as any player. The Tigers plan to call upon those two players at some point this season, but they couldn’t get on the first shuttle from Toledo to Detroit because of injuries.
MONDAY’S GAME: Reese Olson not sharp enough in Tigers’ third straight loss, 7-4 at Pittsburgh Pirates
Kevin McGonigle, Freddy Pacheco
Fellow shortstop Kevin McGonigle, a 19-year-old prospect, suffered a left hamstring strain in spring training and hasn’t made his season debut yet. He has been completing rehab and a return-to-play progression during extended spring training in Lakeland.
McGonigle, selected No. 37 overall in the 2023 draft, is expected to report to Low-A Lakeland, joining fellow top prospect Max Clark, but he should be a candidate for quick promotion to High-A West Michigan.
That’s because McGonigle can hit.
Last season, McGonigle hit .315 with one home run, 18 walks and 10 strikeouts across 21 games at the Florida Complex League and Low-A Lakeland levels. In Low-A, McGonigle hit .350 with one homer, seven walks and five strikeouts across 12 games.
JEFF SEIDEL: Tigers’ Eddys Leonard does not care where he plays. Just put him in the lineup
Right-handed reliever Freddy Pacheco, who throws a high-velocity fastball and a nasty slider out of the bullpen, is making progress in his return from Tommy John surgery. He is throwing bullpens twice per week.
The 25-year-old underwent elbow surgery in June 2023.
Pacheco hasn’t been healthy since the 2022 season in the St. Louis Cardinals’ organization, when he posted a 3.05 ERA with 28 walks and 84 strikeouts across 62 innings in 50 relief appearances for Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis. That year, his 96.5 mph fastball had a 26.5% whiff rate and his 84.4 mph slider had a 54.6% whiff rate.
Although Pacheco likely reports to Triple-A Toledo when fully healthy, he could be an asset for the Tigers down the stretch this season, but only if he recaptures his fastball command and slider shape.
Sawyer Gipson-Long
In the big leagues, the Tigers have more than one player on the injury report for the first time since March 8.
Right-hander Sawyer Gipson-Long has been on the report since the first week of spring training with a left groin strain, but at some point in the past couple of days, he reported right forearm tightness.
The 26-year-old, who posted a 2.70 ERA in four starts with the Tigers last season, completed three innings in his first rehab start Sunday for Low-A Lakeland, allowing one run on three hits and zero walks with four strikeouts. He complained of forearm tightness after the 41-pitch outing.
Gipson-Long is receiving further evaluation.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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DETROIT (FOX 2) – Some Detroit officials are shining a light on ICE chases calling for change, saying they are too fast, too risky, and a danger to the community and everyone involved.
The backstory:
On Wednesday council members Denzel Anton McCampbell, Gabriela Santiago-Romero and Detroit Police Commissioner Victoria Camille, sent a letter addressing it to the head of the Department of Homeland Security – Markwayne Mullin.
In the letter they are demanding that ICE ends “dangerous pursuits through residential neighborhoods.”
They cited two pursuits — in May and June — where ICE sped through areas where children played, and both ended in injury.
Both individuals who were being pursued, they say, had no criminal activity – so they’re calling for an end to these chases.
McCampbell spoke about the letter and what they hope to accomplish.
“Talk about immigration law, this is not criminal law. So these chases are happening based on civil issues and endangering our community,” he said. “So we wanted to ensure that we sent a letter for accountability to Homeland Security to demand that they stop this and follow their own rules to keep our neighborhoods safe.”
In the letter, McCampbell, Santiago-Romero, and Camille call on DHS to:
- Cease vehicular pursuits
- Publicly release its most current vehicular pursuit policy
- Confirm key details regarding the May and June incidents
- Share findings from the resulting investigations
- Hold accountable any agents who break the rules.
They say that the majority of individuals targeted in the Detroit operations do not have criminal records, and that no civil immigration objective justifies high-speed chases that endanger the people being pursued, the agents involved, and innocent bystanders, homeowners, and children.
The other side:
FOX 2 reached out to the Detroit Department of Homeland Security Office requesting an interview and we are waiting to hear back.
Read the full letter below:
Dear Secretary Mullin:
We write on behalf of the residents of Detroit’s Districts 6 and 7 to demand that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) immediately stop conducting high-speed vehicular pursuits through our neighborhoods, and that the Department of Homeland Security enforce its own pursuit standards with the seriousness that human life demands. In the span of three weeks, two such pursuits in Detroit have left two people critically injured, damaged residents’ homes and property, and placed children and bystanders in mortal danger. These are not unfounded notions; they happened on our streets in front of families.
On May 19, 2026, a vehicular pursuit and crash involving ICE left Yerlys Moreno López, a Detroit asylum seeker, with a broken knee and other injuries requiring emergency surgery. On June 5, 2026, ICE confirmed its officers pursued a driver on Detroit’s west side near Whitlock Avenue and Warwick Street. The driver, Mohamd Salim Abdessamed, lost control, crashed through a residential fence and garage, was impaled by a fence post, and landed atop two parked vehicles. He was hospitalized in critical condition. The homeowner reported that her garage was knocked off its foundation, and a vehicle on her property was destroyed. According to neighbors who witnessed the event, agents operated unmarked vehicles, with only one having its emergency lights activated. At this time, it is unclear if sirens were activated.
That last detail is not a minor one. Federal regulation at 8 C.F.R. § 287.8(e) defines a lawful immigration pursuit as one carried out in a “designated pursuit vehicle.” A pursuit conducted in an unmarked vehicle without activated lights and sirens does not appear to satisfy the Department’s own regulatory definition. ICE’s own 2012 Emergency Driving Handbook further directs agents to “consider and evaluate critical safety issues posed by emergency driving, including the potential risk of death or serious physical injury to themselves, the general public, and the suspect, and should engage in emergency driving only when they determine that the seriousness of the emergency or the severity of the suspected criminal offense outweighs the risk of death or serious physical injury associated with such driving.” We have seen little evidence that such a weighing occurred in either of the Detroit incidents.
The U.S. Department of Justice discourages the use of unmarked vehicles in pursuits, precisely because of the catastrophic risk to uninvolved bystanders. Most American police departments, including Detroit, prohibit chases for non-violent offenses and permit them only to prevent an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm. It is indefensible that federal agents operating on the same residential streets should hold themselves to a lower standard of public safety than the local police who patrol those blocks every day. The overwhelming majority of individuals targeted in these Detroit operations have no criminal record. No civil immigration objective justifies driving a vehicle at high speed past a park where children are playing.
Accordingly, we demand that the Department take the following actions:
1. Immediately direct ICE and HSI personnel operating in Detroit and across the nation to cease vehicular pursuits in residential and populated areas except where there is an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to a person, consistent with best practices.
2. Confirm in writing whether the agents involved in the May 19 and June 5, 2026, Detroit pursuits complied with 8 C.F.R. § 287.8(e), including the requirement that pursuits be conducted in designated vehicles with activated emergency lights and sirens, and whether unmarked vehicles were used in either pursuit.
3. Publicly release the current ICE and HSI vehicular pursuit policy, as the most recent publicly available guidance dates to 2012.
4. Provide the complete findings of the Department’s investigations into both Detroit incidents, including any after-action review, supervisory authorization records, and any disciplinary or corrective measures taken.
5. Commit to a binding pursuit and use-of-force standard that requires supervisory authorization, prohibits pursuits for non-violent civil immigration matters, and holds agents accountable when they violate it.
Detroit is a community that looks out for its neighbors, and we will not accept a regime in which federal agents treat our streets as a place where bystanders, homeowners, and children are acceptable collateral. The next pursuit may not end with injuries but with a funeral. I urge you to act before it does, and I request a written response within fourteen (14) days of receipt of this letter.
Respectfully,
Denzel Anton McCampbell
Council Member, District 7
Detroit City Council Gabriela Santiago-Romero
Council Member, District 6
Detroit City Council
Victoria Camille
Police Commissioner, District 7
Detroit Board of Police Commissioners
Cc:
The Honorable Rashida Tlaib, U.S. House of Representatives (MI-12)
The Honorable Shri Thanedar, U.S. House of Representatives (MI-13)
The Honorable Gary Peters, United States Senate (MI)
The Honorable Elissa Slotkin, United States Senate (MI)
Watch FOX 2 Detroit Live:
The Source: Information for this report is from an interview with Denzel Anton McCampbell and the letter sent to DHS.
Every seat in the Michigan Senate is up for election this year, and eight of those districts are in Wayne County.
In the 4th, 5th and 8th Districts, only one Republican and one Democrat filed for election, meaning those candidates will automatically be nominated and move on to the November ballot. Here are The Detroit News endorsements in the five contested Senate primaries in Wayne County:
1st District (Southwest Detroit and parts of Downriver, including Taylor, Melvindale and Lincoln Park): Two Detroit Democrats are competing for this seat: Abraham Aiyash and Justin Onwenu.
Aiyash is a former state representative who is hoping to return to the Legislature after a two-year absence. He is a progressive whose policy positions align with Democratic socialists.
Onwenu is an attorney who served the Mike Duggan administration as Detroit’s first Director of Entrepreneurship and Economic Opportunity, helping small businesses get a start in the city. Before attending Columbia Law School, where he was president of the student body from 2023 to 2024, Onwenu worked to combat air and water pollution in Detroit, Ecorse and River Rouge.
In the Senate, he promises to be a supporter of legislation to strengthen neighborhoods by lowering property taxes and investing in infrastructure.
He also supports stronger transparency and ethics rules for lawmakers. Justin Onwenu gets our endorsement in the 1st District Democratic primary.
Patrick O’Connell of Ecorse is unopposed in the Republican primary.
2nd District (Northwest Detroit, Dearborn Heights and part of Dearborn): The district is currently represented by Sylvia Santana, who made an unsuccessful bid to be nominated for the Michigan State University board.
The Democratic primary features two Dearborn residents who are hoping to replace Santana: Erin Byrnes and Abbas Alawieh.
Alawieh describes himself as a political strategist, community organizer and pro-peace advocate. He is supported by the Michigan Democratic Party’s Progressive Caucus and aligns with many of its anti-growth positions.
Byrnes is currently a state representative in her second term. Like her opponent, she is well to the left of center on the political spectrum. In the Legislature, she has pushed for utility rate controls.
The two Democrats are similarly positioned. Our choice in the 2nd District is Erin Byrnes, based on her legislative experience.
Harry Sawicki of Dearborn Heights is unopposed in the Republican primary.
3rd District (Detroit, Warren and Madison Heights): The contest to replace incumbent Stephanie Chang has drawn a long list of candidates. The 3rd District starts near Downtown Detroit and stretches north through the center of the city into southern Oakland and Macomb counties.
Eleven Democrats, all from Detroit, are competing in the primary. They are: Mohammad Alam, a Bangladeshi immigrant and Army veteran; LeJuan Council, a property manager and small business owner; John Conyers III, son of the late congressman; LaTanya Garrett, a former state representative; Korey Hall, a former director of community affairs in the Whitmer administration; Adam Hollier, a former state senator; Gary Hunter, a former candidate for Detroit City Council; Kimberly Hill-Knott, former head of the Detroit Climate Action Collaborative; Toinu Reeves, an economist, Abraham Shaw, who owns an auto repair shop, and Eboni Taylor, a community advocate.
There are several interesting and impressive candidates in this race, including Conyers, who just wrote about his father. Garrett has legislative experience, as does Hollier, whom we’ve endorsed in his previous runs for public office.
But we are most impressed with Reeves, a newcomer to politics who brings top-notch credentials to the race. Reeves grew up on Detroit’s east side and is an economist who attended Wayne State University and Dartmouth College.
He serves as chair of the Economic Development Workgroup for Detroit’s District 4 Community Advisory Committee and on the Jefferson-Chalmers Community District Council. He is a former school teacher and autoworker.
Toinu Reeves offers fresh ideas and much-needed skills, and gets our endorsement in the 3rd District Democratic Primary.
Mark Ashley Price is unopposed in the Republican primary.
6th District (Redford Township, Farmington and Farmington Hills): Incumbent Mary Cavanaugh is defending her seat from a challenge from fellow Democrat Stephen Jensen, who shows no signs of a campaign. Both are from Redford.
Mary Cavanaugh, granddaughter of the late Detroit Mayor Jerome Cavanaugh, has served her district well and should be renominated for a second term.
Joi Pokerwinski of Redford Township is unopposed in the Republican Party.
12th District (Parts of Wayne, Macomb and St. Clair counties, including Algonac, the Grosse Pointes, St. Clair Shores, Harper Woods, Mount Clemens and New Baltimore): Incumbent Sen. Kevin Hertel of St. Clair Shores is unopposed in the Democratic primary. Five Republicans are competing in their primary to face him in November.
They are: Joseph Backus of St. Clair Shores, a prolific community volunteer who has run unsuccessfully for other offices; Patrick Biange of St. Clair Shores; John Goldwater of New Baltimore, an oil and gas entrepreneur; Eileen Tesch, the former mayor of Algonac who faced recall efforts, and Shelley Wright, a former general contractor and owner of a process serving company who says Donald Trump inspired her to politics.
John Goldwater has experience growing a business and creating jobs. He would also prioritize improving skilled trades training. The father of six is a conservative who describes himself as pro-life and a defender of the Second Amendment.
Our endorsement in the 12th District Republican primary goes to John Goldwater.
Photos by FOX 2 Photog Scott Federspiel
DETROIT (FOX 2) – A 16-year-old moped driver was hospitalized after a crash on Detroit’s west side on Wednesday night.
The backstory:
Detroit police say the teen disregarded a stop sign while going east on Vassar when he collided with a vehicle turning south on Outer Drive at about 9:30 p.m.
Photos by FOX 2 Photog Scott Federspiel
The boy was taken to a nearby hospital where he is listed in critical condition. The driver of the car, a woman in her 30s, was not injured.
The Source: Information for this report is from Detroit police.
Watch FOX 2 Detroit Live:
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