Detroit, MI

The Detroit Tigers are on the rise. Taking the next step is the hard part

Published

3 hours ago

September 18, 2024

The Detroit Tigers are on the rise. Taking the next step is the hard part

This is the moment front offices should find invigorating, but too often dread. The worst of the losing is over. The team is on the rise. But now comes a new challenge. Expectations mount. Scrutiny increases. The payroll jumps, or at least it should, increasing the possibility of big-money mistakes.

The Detroit Tigers are approaching this juncture, competing for a wild card with a stunning second-half surge that caught almost the entire industry by surprise. The team features an intriguing young core. Its payroll commitments for 2025 are a relatively meager $38.8 million. This offseason, the additions of a top-of-the-rotation starter, corner-infield help and more strikeout capability in the bullpen could push the team closer to the next great era of Tigers baseball.

Which isn’t to say the Tigers should do anything stupid; the last thing they need is another Javier Báez. They are rebounding, in large part, because president of baseball operations Scott Harris remained disciplined in his decision-making.

Harris, completing his second full season, need not be as desperate as the Kansas City Royals were for a turnaround coming off 106 losses a year ago. Nor will he want to turn into the Cincinnati Reds, who last offseason spent more than $100 million in free agency to supplement a young, talented roster — and appear headed to a sub-.500 finish.

Adding proven veterans in an effort to “take the next step” often is tricky, simply because so much can go wrong. The risk for the Tigers last offseason was much lower. The players Harris acquired — pitchers Jack Flaherty, Kenta Maeda, Shelby Miller and Andrew Chafin, outfielder Mark Canha and third baseman Gio Urshela — were intended to enhance the building effort, biding time for young players, building trade value or both. Flaherty was the only clear win. Maeda joined Báez as a sunk cost; the two comprise the bulk of the team’s payroll commitments for 2025.

Scott Harris need not be as desperate as some of his other Central contemporaries. (Mike Carlson / MLB Photos via Getty Images)

The mindset this winter must be different. The Tigers’ free-agent choices should help the team compete for the AL Central title. Could be Christian Walker at first. Could be Alex Bregman at third. Could be Nathan Eovaldi for the rotation, Tanner Scott for the bullpen. Harris can figure out the names later. But with AL Cy Young favorite Tarik Skubal under club control for only two more seasons, it’s go time.

The Tigers’ (24-10) record since Aug. 11 is the best in the majors. So is their 2.52 ERA, and plus 60-run differential. All of this happened after they sold at the deadline, parting with Flaherty, Canha and Chafin. Their return for Flaherty initially drew criticism, particularly compared to what the Toronto Blue Jays landed for Yusei Kikuchi. But Trey Sweeney is showing enough to possibly be at least the primary shortstop next season against right-handed pitching, and catcher Thayron Liranzo is starting to appear on lists of the game’s top 100 prospects.

A strong case can be made for the Tigers to pursue top free agent Juan Soto, who, at 26 next season, is at the right age for an emerging club. The late Detroit owner Mike Ilitch might have gone for such a splash, even with a team deep in left-handed hitting outfielders (Riley Greene, Parker Meadows, Kerry Carpenter and switch-hitter Wenceel Perez, not to mention top prospect Max Clark). Ilitch’s son, team president and CEO Christopher Ilitch, is far less likely to make a massive investment. But even factoring in salaries for arbitration-eligible players, the Tigers’ payroll has significant room to grow.

First base is one potential area of need. The Tigers need to make a decision on Spencer Torkelson, whom they drafted first overall in 2020 under Harris’ predecessor, Al Avila. Harris and Co. gave an indication of how they view Torkelson by sending him to Triple A for nearly three months. Torkelson has been better since returning, but is he a permanent solution?

Jace Jung, the 12th overall pick in 2022, Avila’s last draft, also might be less than a fixture, and not simply because front offices are generally less wedded to players brought in by previous regimes. With the Tigers committed to Colt Keith, Jung is unlikely to return to second, his position at Texas Tech. He is still growing comfortable at third, and manager AJ Hinch’s ties to Bregman from their days together with the Houston Astros will prompt speculation about a possible fit.

Both Torkelson and Jung are represented by Scott Boras, who also is the agent for Bregman and top free-agent first baseman Pete Alonso. How all that will figure into Boras’ and the Tigers’ equations, if at all, is impossible to say. Other teams also will be in the market for Bregman and Alonso, both of whom will be among the most expensive free-agent options.

The Tigers will need to make a decision on Spencer Torkelson, a former No. 1 overall pick who has yet to blossom. (Duane Burleson / Getty Images)

The rotation is another area for the Tigers to address, considering that for most of this run they used only two starters, Skubal and Keider Montero, and ran frequent bullpen games. Skubal, Reese Olson and top prospect Jackson Jobe give the club the makings of an outstanding top three, but the right veteran addition would make the group deeper and stronger.

The Tigers need not splurge on Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell or Max Fried, though any of those three obviously would provide significant impact. The free-agent market also will include Flaherty, Kikuchi and Luis Severino, plus potentially Eovaldi, Sean Manaea and Michael Wacha, if they decline player options.

Finally, there is the bullpen. The Tigers entered Tuesday ranked seventh in the majors in bullpen ERA, but with the sixth worst strikeout rate. Casual fans might be challenged to name more than one or two of their relievers. Hinch is using both Jason Foley and Tyler Holton at the back end. So while the performance of relievers is notoriously volatile, a free-agent closer such as Scott or Carlos Estévez would help, and other additions should be considered, too.

Again, the Tigers can go about this in a measured, intelligent manner. The trade market will offer additional opportunities, particularly now that the Detroit farm system is strong enough for Harris to at least consider trading young players. Maybe one of the club’s young outfielders could bring a starting pitcher. Maybe Torkelson and/or Jung would appeal to certain teams.

This is when it gets fun. After seven straight losing seasons, including a 114-loss campaign in 2019, the Tigers finally are competitive again, enlivening Comerica Park, captivating the city. The pressures now will be greater, but so will the rewards. Many of the pieces are in place. The Tigers just need a few more.

(Top photo of Trey Sweeney: Nic Antaya / Getty Images)

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Detroit, MI

Bally Sports Detroit app goes dark for many during portion of Tigers game

Published

10 hours ago

September 18, 2024

Press Room

Bally Sports Detroit app goes dark for many during portion of Tigers game

With the Tigers playing arguably their most-anticipated game in nearly a decade, many fans were in the dark for much of the first four innings Tuesday night.

As the Tigers were playing the Kansas City Royals while trailing the Minnesota Twins by 1.5 games for the final wild-card spot in the American League, the Bally Sports Plus app went down for many customers in the Michigan market, and in other markets across the country.

A Bally Sports Detroit exec said around 8 p.m. Tuesday, about 20 minutes following first pitch, that the operations department was aware of the situation and was working to fix it. Service was restored about an hour after the start of the Tigers-Royals game, Bally Sports told its customers on social media.

“Bally Sports is currently experiencing a streaming interruption across multiple platforms” read a message from Bally Sports’ X (formerly Twitter) account around 8:17 Thursday. “We know every moment matters. The Bally Sports operations team is working quickly to identify and resolve the issue.”

When some fans went to load the TV stream of the game, they were met with an error message: “We’ve encountered a problem leading your video. Please retry or contact customer care for help.”

Subscribers: Once again, Matt Vierling quietly in the center of another Tigers comeback win

Around 8:40 Tuesday, Bally Sports said on X service had been restored “across all regions.” Bally Sports said if customers are continuing to experience issues, they can contact the support staff at help.ballysports.com.

Many Tigers fans began subscribing to the Bally Sports Plus app (for more than $20 a month) earlier this season when Diamond Sports, the parent company of the Bally Sports stable of regional-sports networks, and Comcast, the parent company of Xfinity, hit an impasse in negotiations, and the RSNs were removed from Xfinity’s offerings on May 1.

Diamond Sports and Xfinity reached an agreement, and the Bally Sports RSNs returned to the cable giant’s lineup Aug. 1.

Counting Tuesday night’s game in Kansas City, the Tigers have 11 games left in the regular season as they try to make the postseason for the first time since 2016. The Twins were playing the AL Central-leading Cleveland Guardians.

The Tigers rallied to beat the Royals, 7-6, on Monday, to pull within 1.5 games of the Twins, who had an early lead on the Guardians but ended up losing, 4-3.

tpaul@detroitnews.com

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Detroit, MI

Detroit Tigers’ Wenceel Pérez isn’t starter anymore, but he’s still valuable switch-hitter

Published

17 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Press Room

Detroit Tigers’ Wenceel Pérez isn’t starter anymore, but he’s still valuable switch-hitter

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When Wenceel Pérez suffered a left oblique strain in early August, he had been an everyday outfielder for the Detroit Tigers for roughly three months. The 24-year-old needed one month to rest, recover and rehab, but when he returned from the injured list, everything was different.

Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter — two outfielders ahead of Pérez on the depth chart — returned from their injuries while Pérez was sidelined with his injury.

Therefore, Pérez doesn’t start every game anymore.

“He’s a guy that was hitting in the middle of our order, gets hurt, and when he comes back, everything on our team has changed, and he didn’t change,” manager A.J. Hinch said after Monday’s game. “He hasn’t missed a beat. We hurried him back to get him in the mix because having a switch-hitter, even if it was on the bench, is going to be very valuable to make decisions during the game.”

Pérez has transitioned from an everyday player to an off-the-bench weapon in pinch-hit situations for matchup advantages. He hasn’t let the change in his role impact the way he acts on a day-to-day basis.

He is a team-first player.

“The way we play here, we are together,” Pérez said. “Everybody gets his opportunity to play, and when I get the opportunity, I’m going to try to produce as much as I can. I’m trying to be ready for it and bring energy to the team.”

[ MUST LISTEN: Make “Days of Roar” your go-to Detroit Tigers podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple,Spotify) ]

What happened in the sixth inning of Monday’s 7-6 win over the Kansas City Royals showcased the value of Pérez. He entered as a pinch-hitter to face left-handed reliever Sam Long with runners on the corners and one out, but right-handed reliever John Schreiber was warming up in the bullpen.

“I was just trying to bring home the guy on third, no matter what,” Pérez said.

Royals manager Matt Quatraro had to make a decision: left-hander or right-hander against the switch-hitting Pérez. He has the same splits from both sides of the plate this season, but he hits for more power from the left side against right-handers.

The Royals stuck with Long, so Pérez swung from the right side of the plate. He hit a fifth-pitch slider from Long to left field for a two-run double, tying the game, 6-6. He then scored for a 7-6 lead on Matt Vierling’s single off Schreiber.

“He threw me a first-pitch slider,” Pérez said. “He probably thought that I couldn’t see it, so he tried to throw it to me again to get me out. He got me pretty bad on the first-pitch slider. It looked like a cutter. I thought he would throw it to me again.”

He is hitting .240 with nine home runs, 27 walks and 80 strikeouts across 102 games in 2024, his rookie season. As part of that, he is hitting .250 (3-for-12) in 13 plate appearances as a pinch-hitter, including three of those opportunities in five games since returning from injury.

Pérez didn’t make the Opening Day roster out of spring training, but five months later, he is proving to be an important player for the Tigers — even if he isn’t considered an everyday player anymore — as the team pushes for the postseason.

“It’s special,” Pérez said. “All that matters is winning the game. You’re not thinking about you. You’re thinking about the game, and going to the playoffs.”

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

Steve Yzerman on contract talks with Detroit Red Wings’ Moritz Seider: ‘Not far apart’

Published

1 day ago

September 17, 2024

Press Room

Steve Yzerman on contract talks with Detroit Red Wings’ Moritz Seider: ‘Not far apart’

Now that he has locked up Lucas Raymond for eight years, will Moritz Seider be far behind?

“We continue to talk,” Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman said Tuesday. “I’m hopeful we can get a deal done at some point – sooner than later would be better for both parties. I don’t think we’re terribly far apart but we’ll hopefully we can progress to get him here as soon as possible.”

The “here” would be ideally be Traverse City, where the Wings are slated to begin training camp Thursday. It’s not the biggest deal if Seider misses that – but the longer it drags out, the more disruptive it will be.

MORE: Detroit Red Wings sign Lucas Raymond to 8-year extension worth more than $8M per year

After signing Raymond for years with an average annual value of $8,075,000 Monday, shortly after signing Jonatan Berggren for one year at $825,000, the Wings have about $8.7 million left in their coffer. It would be huge for them if Seider, 23, agrees to a deal with such a cap hit – the same as that carried by captain Dylan Larkin – since fellow hotshot young defenseman Rasmus Dahlin is getting $11 million annually from the Buffalo Sabres.

Raymond, who signed an eight-year, $64.6 million deal Monday, spent part of his off season training with Seider in Seider’s native Germany.

“Both me and Mo first of all are really, really good friends,” Raymond said. “We’ve kind of gone through this journey together, almost every step of the way. We came into the league together. We’re in the same situation this summer. Of course we talk. I think for us it’s more just nice to get your mind of things, hang out as friends. You talk enough about the contract with agents and people asking. For both of us, it’s just nice to hang out as buddies and work out together. I had a great time in Germany and it was really fun seeing him.”

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her latest book, “The Franchise: Detroit Red Wings: A Curated History of the Red Wings,” will be available October 2024. Her books, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” and “The Big 50: The Men and Moments that made the Detroit Red Wings” are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.

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