Detroit, MI
Report: Detroit Tigers would listen to offers on top trade chip Jack Flaherty
Will the Detroit Tigers be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline this season?
That question won’t be answered for another six weeks or so with the trade deadline scheduled for July 30 this season and the Tigers’ hovering around a .500 record (32-33 entering Tuesday). But that hasn’t stopped the speculation about what all 30 teams will be up to when the deadline arrives.
In an article on the Athletic with 30 rumors and things to watch before the trade deadline, MLB writer and former front office executive Jim Bowden listed Tigers’ right-handed starter Jack Flaherty, who has had a bounce-back season in Detroit’s rotation after joining as a free agent, as one of the “best starting pitchers expected to be traded at the deadline.”
Flaherty is listed as one of the most attractive starters in the market along with Jesús Luzardo (Marlins), Luis Severino (Mets), Tyler Anderson (Angels), Erick Fedde (White Sox), Garrett Crochet (White Sox) and Trevor Williams (Nationals), with all of them carrying “exorbitant” asking prices due to the lack of elite starting pitchers available.
SPEAKING OF ELITE STARTING PITCHERS: Former MLB pitcher Dan Petry breaks down Detroit Tigers’ rotation, including Tarik Skubal
Later in the piece in a different bullet point, Bowden wrote, “The Tigers won’t trade Tarik Skubal but they’ll listen on Jack Flaherty, who is having a strong season with Detroit. Flaherty (3.22 ERA, 11.64 strikeouts per nine innings) could bring back a haul.”
Flaherty, who will be a free agent after the season, has thrown 72⅔ innings in 12 starts this season and holds a 3-4 record with a 3.22 ERA. Flaherty has the fourth-most strikeouts of any pitcher in the American League at 94, trailing Skubal, Kansas City’s Cole Ragans and Crochet. He is fifth in the AL in WHIP (0.96), second in strikeouts per nine innings (11.64) behind Crochet and fourth in FIP (2.71). He has accumulated 1.9 fWAR this season, the sixth-most of any AL pitcher, potentially putting him in All-Star consideration.
Last season, the Tigers ended up as sellers and shipped Michael Lorenzen to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for current Double-A Erie infielder Hao-Yu Lee, but couldn’t execute a deal to flip pending free agent pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez, who left Detroit for Arizona in the offseason.
THANKS, COACH: Detroit Tigers’ Justyn-Henry Malloy has Hank Aaron’s No. 44, thanks to Gary Jones
The Tigers entered Tuesday sitting 2½ games behind the Minnesota Twins for the final AL wild-card spot and 10½ games behind the Cleveland Guardians for the division lead with the trade deadline 50 days away. The Tigers have a highly-ranked prospect system that could either facilitate a trade or help fill in spots on the roster if president of baseball operations Scott Harris decides on a sale of veterans such as Flaherty based on the Tigers’ outlook in the standings in six weeks.
The Padres, Brewers, Cardinals, Braves, Guardians, Diamondbacks and Red Sox are all teams mentioned by Bowden as teams that could be potential be buyers in the starting pitching market.
Detroit, MI
Lessons Lions Can Learn From Epic Texans Win
The Detroit Lions overcame a myriad of mistakes to steal an impressive road win over the Houston Texans and extend their winning streak to seven games.
In the game, the Lions trailed by as many as 16 points before shutting out the Texans in the second half and rallying to win on a last-second Jake Bates field goal.
Detroit was able to overcome five Jared Goff interceptions and a Houston defense that was schemed to take away many of the offense’s strongest points. As a result, opposing teams may have a template on how to slow down their potent offense.
“Moving forward, the Lions have to be aware of the fact that teams are gonna try to deploy, whether it’s the two-high shell that teams used to do to Kansas City when they had Tyreek Hill or other things of that nature,” said co-host Christian Booher. “Every team is gonna think they have the answer coming in, and so it should make for a lot of fun tests for Ben Johnson to try to out-scheme some of these defensive coordinators. Houston did an excellent job, and the Lions had all the right counter-punches at the end of that game.”
MORE: Film Review: What Went Wrong With Jared Goff Against Texans
Though it was tough at times, the Lions ultimately overcame the struggles to steal the win. Part of the comeback was an intangible showing, as their grit proved once again that they can overcome even the toughest elements of winning a game.
“There’s also an intangible part of this, and it’s the grit. When it’s winning time, you make winning plays. It doesn’t matter who’s number is called, that person is ready to go. (Sunday), it was Amon-Ra St. Brown on that third down,” Booher said. “Really, that’s another element that I don’t think teams are gonna be able to take away. If you want to beat the Lions, you’ve got to blow them out. If it’s whithin seven points in the fourth quarter, or 16 points at halftime, it does not matter. The Lions are gonna be in it at the end, and with that culture, they’re gonna have everything they need to go and win a game.”
The latest ‘Lone Wolves’ podcast explores the Lions’ defensive success under Aaron Glenn, Jared Goff’s struggles and Jake Bates’ ascent into becoming one of the league’s best kickers.
Don’t miss any future episodes of the podcast. Make sure to subscribe to the Lone Wolves podcast, which is available everywhere your favorite podcasts are housed.
Detroit, MI
Detroit Tigers Skipper Tabbed as AL Manager of the Year Finalist
It’s been quite a long road for AJ Hinch. From being let go as part of the infamous Houston Astros scandal to leading the Detroit Tigers back to the playoffs for the first time in a decade, Hinch has led plenty of great baseball teams in his time.
The Tigers finished the regular season 86-76 and earned the third wild card berth in the AL. They finished as one of the hottest teams in baseball. After selling off nearly half of a dozen players at the trade deadline, the Tigers finished the season on a 31-13 run, eliminating a 10-game deficit.
Hinch had to navigate having one of the youngest rosters in baseball and did so quite well, considering that red-hot run.
Year over year, Hinch improved the Tigers. In 2023, 28 finished with bWAR over 0.0, 13 of whom played in at least 50 games, led by Eduardo Rodriguez’s 3.4.
This year, 33 players did so with 15 players with at least 50 games played, led by MLB co-leader and AL Cy Young finalist, Tarik Skubal.
This is Hinch’s third time as a finalist for Manager of the Year. With the Astros, he finished second in 2015 and third in 2017. In 2018, he was just outside the finalists at fourth and he finished fifth in 2019. Then, he took over the Tigers in 2021 and received votes to end up seventh.
This year, he’s up against two AL Central rival managers, Kansas City Royals’ Matt Qautraro and Cleveland Guardians’ first-year skipper, Stephen Vogt. Oddly enough, Hinch’s Tigers were 6-7 against both the Royals and Guardians in 2024.
If Hinch were to win the award, he would be just the third Tigers manager to do so (and fourth award), joining Hall of Famers, Jim Leyland (2006) and Sparky Anderson (1984 and 1987).
Detroit, MI
Live thread: Dolphins at Rams on ‘Monday Night Football’
The Miami Dolphins (2-6) and Los Angeles Rams (4-4) will close out Week 10 with a cross-conference battle on “Monday Night Football.” These two teams have met just 14 times in their histories, with the Dolphins holding a 12-2 lead, including winning 11 of the last 12 matchups.
The Rams are on a three-game win streak and are working their way out of injury purgatory. With wide receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua back in the mix, Matthew Stafford is cooking once again. Additionally, the Rams also activated two of their starting interior offensive lineman—Jonah Jackson and Steve Avila—on Monday, as the offense continues to heal.
Speaking of getting healthy, the Dolphins returned Tua Tagovailoa two weeks ago and the offense has come back to life. In the four games he missed, the Dolphins scored less than 15 points in each game, but upon his return, they’ve dropped 27 points in back-to-back weeks. The downside is that their defense gave up 30 points to the Bills and 28 points to the Cardinals, losing both games.
Betting line and pick for the game
The folks over at FanDuel Sportsbook are slightly favoring the home team in this game and have set the betting line at Rams -2.5 points. Both offenses can score, which lends itself to likely being an entertaining game to watch. The difference for me is their recent performances, where the Rams have found a way to win their last three while the Dolphins have lost their last three.
Prediction: Rams 27-24
Here’s how to watch tonight’s “Monday Night Football” game:
Dolphins at Rams
Date: Monday, November 11, 2024
Time: 8:15 p.m. ET
Location: SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California
TV: ESPN
ESPN Announcers: Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, and Lisa Salters (field reporter)
ESPN 2: The Manningcast will return in Week 11
Online Streaming: ESPN+, ESPN APP, NFL Sunday Ticket via YouTube, NFL+ Premium
Enjoy the game and come chat with us in the comments.
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