Detroit, MI
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)
Detroit, MI
Bruce Campbell announces cancer diagnosis; ‘Fear not,’ he tells fans
Treatment will delay the Royal Oak-born actor’s plans to tour his new film ‘Ernie & Emma’ this summer.
Royal Oak-born movie star and cult hero Bruce Campbell announced on social media on Monday that he has been diagnosed cancer — a type that is “treatable” but not “curable,” he said.
“I apologize if that’s a shock — it was to me too,” the “Evil Dead” star, 67, wrote in a message posted to Instagram.
He went on to say “I’m not gonna go into any more detail,” and he didn’t. He said the public announcement had to do with scaling back appearances on his schedule, including tour dates behind his latest film, “Ernie & Emma.”
Campbell planned to show the movie June 5 at the Redford Theatre; as of Monday night, that date is still on the Redford schedule, but Campbell wrote in his note he plans to get “as well as I possibly can over the summer so that I can tour with my new movie ‘Ernie & Emma’ this fall.”
The movie is written, directed by and stars Campbell as a man who goes on a journey following the death of his wife. Campbell produced the movie alongside his wife, Ida Gearon, and filmed it in Oregon, where he now lives.
Campbell told The News in January he dedicated “Ernie & Emma” to his childhood moviemaking pals, including Scott Spiegel, who died of a heart attack in September 2025.
“It’s a callback to the carefree days of Super 8, where we could do whatever the f–k we wanted to do,” Campbell said of “Ernie & Emma.” “So I thought, ‘All the boys are responsible for this,’ so they’re all in there.”
Campbell got his start making movies around Metro Detroit with his childhood pal, Sam Raimi. Campbell starred in Raimi’s “Evil Dead” trilogy and has since appeared in most of Raimi’s films; Campbell makes a brief appearance in a photograph in the background of an early scene in Raimi’s latest, “Send Help.”
He’s also an author; Campbell’s autobiography “If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor” was published in 2001.
In his post on social media, Campbell thanked fans and said he was not out to elicit sympathy.
“Fear not, I am a tough old son-of-a-bitch and I have great support, so I expect to be around for a while,” he wrote.
agraham@detroitnews.com
Detroit, MI
Michigan State Police sends message to drivers after trooper involved in hit and run:
“Slow down and move over” is the message that Michigan State Police is sending to drivers after one of its troopers in a parked patrol car was struck while investigating a crash this weekend. The driver of that vehicle fled the scene.
Michigan State Police tells CBS News Detroit that we’re two months into the year, and it has had six incidents across the state where patrol cars were struck by oncoming vehicles. One of those incidents occurred on Sunday evening.
“Could have been much more tragic,” said MSP Lieutenant Rene Gonzalez, First District public information officer.
Gonzalez says on Sunday, an MSP trooper was near M-10 and Schaefer Highway in Detroit, simply doing his job, when his patrol car was hit from behind.
“Trooper was out there, and he was investigating a crash when, at the time, a Jeep SUV drove into the rear of the parked vehicle,” Gonzalez said.
The impact slid the trooper’s car into a concrete wall. The 29-year-old Detroit woman driving the Jeep SUV struck the center median, got out of the vehicle, and ran away.
“Not sure why they did it. Maybe not paying attention if they were distracted. They’re attempting to locate her at this time,” said Lt. Gonzalez.
The trooper walked away with minor injuries. Gonzalez says this incident is an example of why Michigan’s Move Over Law was put in place many years ago. The law, which went into effect in 2019, requires drivers to move over into the next lane and reduce their speed by at least 10 mph when emergency or service vehicles — police, fire, rescue, ambulance and road service — have their lights activated.
Drivers who are not able to move over are still required to reduce their speed.
“Trying to do our jobs, however, people are not paying attention. The law is easy. It’s simple. You see us, you see our lights activated, you have to slow down ten miles below the posted speed limit, and then if able, move over to the next occupied available lane,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez says crashes like this can be deadly and often avoided.
“One life lost over something that was a totally preventable crash, it’s way too much. We’re asking that you slow down and move over when you see our lights. It’s a simple message that we’ve been pushing out for years,” he said.
Sunday’s crash remains under investigation. Michigan State Police detectives are still working to track down the 29-year-old suspect.
In the meantime, police are out enforcing the Move Over Law.
Detroit, MI
Rex Satterfield’s 1956 Bel Air takes 2026 Ridler Award in Detroit
The impact and history of autos in Detroit, The Motor City
Here are some facts about Detroit’s auto industry.
Rex Satterfield hoped to see his 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible snag one of the BASF Great 8 finalist spots at this year’s Detroit Autorama. But winning the Ridler Award — one of the highest honors in the custom car business — was something he didn’t foresee.
“It’s just overwhelming right now,” said the man from Russellville, Tennessee, as he left a ballroom at downtown’s Huntington Place and made his way back to the show floor on Sunday, March 1. “We weren’t expecting this.”
Getting a car recognized as one of the BASF Great 8 vehicles is a win in and of itself as they are considered the “absolute pinnacle of custom automotive craftsmanship worldwide,” according to the show. The cars undergo an intensive judging process.
And this effort had an unexpected and emotional complication with the passing in December 2024 of the original builder, Jeff Wolfenbarger, who was battling cancer even as he continued working on the car named “Elegant Lady.”
Kevin Riffey of Kevin Riffey’s Hot Rods and Restorations in Knoxville stepped in to finish the work Wolfenbarger started. He’d had two other cars in the past make the Great 8. He said the goal with this vehicle was straightforward, calling it a “purpose-built show car.”
From its prominent spot at the front of the show floor, “Elegant Lady” sported a creamy exterior, dubbed Light Coffee. The car carries a 1,000 horsepower Don Hardy race engine. The gauges, wheels and gas tank are custom, and the dash is from a 1956 Pontiac.
Satterfield plans to show the car around some and enjoy the moment with it. He said he’s been a car guy since he was a little kid.
The Ridler Award, named in honor of Detroit Autorama’s first publicist, Don Ridler, comes with a $10,000 prize. It was awarded on the final day of this year’s Detroit Autorama, which ran Friday, Feb. 27-Sunday, March 1. This was the event’s 73rd year.
Eric D. Lawrence is the senior car culture reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Send your tips and suggestions about cool automotive stuff to elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.
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