The Detroit Tigers are a team that many people are going to be keeping a close eye on during the upcoming offseason.
Given how strongly they finished the 2024 campaign, they should be looking to upgrade specific aspects of their roster. While their finish to the season was impressive, there are a few clear-cut needs.
Many people will look to the pitching staff as needing reinforcements. For the last few weeks, the only starting pitcher who consistently took the ball as more than an opener was likely Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal.
Injuries depleted the rotation after Jack Flaherty was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers ahead of the deadline. Better health would certainly help, but some reinforcements will be needed.
Advertisement
Alas, there are at least pieces the team can rely on and plug into the pitching staff. In the opinion of Bradford Doolittle of ESPN, the biggest need for the Tigers is adding a home run hitter to their lineup.
“A thumper. When you look at the Tigers’ positional array as it stood at the end of the season, it’s talented but especially really young at every spot. It’s an athletic group that can be augmented with midtier veterans to fill roster gaps and can grow together. Their top position prospect, outfielder Max Clark, has yet to hit the upper levels of the minors, so there’s more talent coming. Because Detroit has all of those young athletes to blanket the field, and young players tend to need less rest in the form of DH days, the Tigers could accommodate a pure, mashing DH more than most contending teams,” the MLB expert wrote.
The Detroit lineup provided a lot of positives down the stretch. When it was needed, the team came through with timely hitting.
But, the postseason showed just how badly this team needs a home run hitter. In seven playoff games, they scored only 21 runs.
Had it not been for some elite pitching, which showed cracks down the stretch against the Cleveland Guardians, they likely wouldn’t have made it as far as they did.
Advertisement
Who could the Tigers target to address that need? Doolittle offered a solution; Pete Alonso of the New York Mets.
“The Tigers also have a lot of cash to spend if they so choose, given their lack of committed money, and in theory a player like Pete Alonso embodies the kind of hitter we’re talking about. If that doesn’t work, it’s still a skill set the Tigers should pursue after finishing next-to-last in OBP and 22nd in slugging,” he wrote.
The slugging first baseman would be a huge addition to the Detroit lineup. While his numbers dropped off slightly in 2024 from previous seasons, he has still hit at least 34 home runs in every season of his career and is a four-time All-Star.
Several parents said they were unaware of any problems at the school
DETROIT – Videos and photos sent to the station show standing water and buckets inside Carleton Elementary School on Detroit’s east side, and an anonymous source says students were expected to attend class even as the water pooled in hallways.
The source also said the water smelled like sewage.
Several parents said Wednesday they were unaware of any problems at the school, though one said the building flooded last week and that students were given the day off.
Advertisement
The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department said it received a complaint of water backing up at the school last Friday and determined the problem was private.
Crews were seen working at the school on Wednesday (March 11) afternoon.
The Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) was contacted for comment; the newsroom is awaiting a response.
The school’s principal said the district is working on building issues, but there was no flood on Wednesday.
Copyright 2026 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.
A 4Warn Weather Alert has been issued for Wednesday morning in Metro Detroit following overnight thunderstorms.
A Flood Watch is in effect for most of Southeast Michigan through 2 p.m. on March 11, prompting a 4Warn Weather Alert as rounds of rain and storms move across the region during the morning commute and through midday.
Full forecast –> Wild weather: Heavy rain leading to flood concerns in Metro Detroit
What is a 4Warn Weather Alert?
We issue a 4Warn Weather Alert when we’re expecting weather conditions that will be inconvenient to our viewers.
Advertisement
Why did we issue an alert for Wednesday morning?
Early Wednesday morning, thunderstorms were rolling through Metro Detroit. While severe weather was a possibility overnight, most storms in Southeast Michigan remained below severe limits. Stronger storms developed across West Michigan earlier, and a Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued for the Saginaw area.
Meanwhile, parts of the Thumb and Mid-Michigan are dealing with freezing rain and icy conditions, while Northern Michigan is under Ice Storm Warnings, including Alpena.
The biggest concern in Southeast Michigan Wednesday morning is heavy rainfall.
Several rounds of rain could produce localized flooding, especially in areas that typically collect water, such as low-lying neighborhoods, underpasses and roads with poor drainage.
A Flood Watch is in effect for most of Southeast Michigan through 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (WDIV)
Flood safety tips
Drivers should be cautious of standing water on roadways. Even shallow water can hide hazards or stall vehicles Here is an important rule during flood events: Turn around, don’t drown.
Advertisement
Just a foot of moving water can sweep a vehicle away. Drivers should never attempt to cross flooded roadways and should seek alternate routes if water covers the road.
Just a foot of moving water can sweep a vehicle away. Drivers should never attempt to cross flooded roadways and should seek alternate routes if water covers the road. (WDIV)
Heavy rain can also lead to basement flooding in some homes. Residents are encouraged to check sump pumps, clear nearby drains if possible and monitor lower levels of their homes for water intrusion during prolonged rainfall.
Copyright 2026 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.
The free agency tampering period has begun for the NFL, and the Detroit Lions are among the active teams acquiring players as they try to get back to the playoffs after they did not meet their own standard for last season.
Advertisement
On Monday, it was revealed that 2025 Lions backup quarterback Kyle Allen was heading to Buffalo, leaving another hole in the roster to fill. Nearly 24 hours later, that hole has been filled, as veteran quarterbackTeddy Bridgewater is heading back to Motown.
Advertisement
Bridgewater spent the 2023 season with Detroit, in what initially was going to be his final season in the league.
However, after coaching Miami Northwestern Senior High School to a state championship in Florida during the 2024 season, he announced he was planning to unretire, and Detroit picked him up for their push towards the top seed in the NFC.
Bridgewater then resigned as head coach at Miami Northwestern and signed with Tampa Bay to backup Baker Mayfield last season.
He appeared in four games last season, throwing 15 passes for the Buccaneers, which were his first NFL pass attempts since 2022.
Advertisement
Bridgewater is a safe option at backup quarterback in Detroit, as the former Rookie of the Year has had a steady career since entering the league with Minnesota out of Louisville in 2014.
Advertisement
Bridgewater returns to back up Jared Goff under new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, as this is a situation where Detroit stuck with a player they knew. For Petzing, this is not the first time coaching Teddy Bridgewater, as he was an offensive assistant with Minnesota when they drafted Bridgewater in 2014.
A leg injury derailed his career after a Pro Bowl season in 2015, but he has started 37 games since the injury as a journeyman. Bridgewater left Minnesota and Drew Petzing and would overlap with Dan Campbell when the quarterback played for New Orleans in 2018 and 2019. In addition to Minnesota, New Orleans, Tampa Bay, and Detroit, Bridgewater has also played for Carolina, Denver, and Miami.
Detroit stuck with a safe and familiar option in Bridgewater, as a majority of their offense, alongside most of their offensive staff, have worked with the quarterback before. If Bridgewater is turned to in any situation, there will be full confidence in the Louisville product to make the right play.
NFL Draft Implications
Advertisement
This puts Detroit in a unique position when looking ahead towards the NFL Draft, as a popular mock draft pick for Detroit was taking a quarterback, with Cole Payton, Luke Altmyer, and Taylen Green all being among the names mentioned.
Bridgewater is an excellent mentor alongside Goff, but having three quarterbacks on the Lions roster after injury-riddled campaigns in the last two seasons may not be the wisest allocation of a roster spot.
For the time being, Detroit has their backup quarterback for the season, and there is not a better option than Bridgewater when it comes to familiarity and adaptability. While the former Pro Bowl quarterback has yet to throw a pass in Detroit, he has the familiairity and trust of the coaching staff to be a backup entering a pivotal year.
