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Visit to Detroit reminds Red Sox aren't the only young, promising team in baseball

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Visit to Detroit reminds Red Sox aren't the only young, promising team in baseball


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Young players such as Spencer Torkelson (second from left) and Zach McKinstry (third) have Tigers fans dreaming of a better future — just like Red Sox fans. Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

COMMENTARY

The roller-coaster ride is hardly easing back into the station. The 2024 Red Sox, who spent most of their first two-and-a-half months ponging a game either side of .500, feel like they’re returning to their roots.

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After two losses Monday, in which they made more errors (6) than runs (4), came two wins. They won a two-hitter, backed by eight Brayan Bello innings, on Wednesday. They lost a two-hitter, Toronto tower Bowden Francis again flirting with history, on Thursday.

“We’re still in the hunt,” manager Alex Cora told reporters.

It will require better baseball than this. At 69-65, a 19-9 run equal to their pre-All-Star peak would mean 88 Red Sox wins. Minnesota (72-61), which hosts Toronto this weekend, has lost eight of 10 and is a .500 team since the start of July. But .500 is about all they need coming home, with a schedule including Tampa Bay, Cincinnati, the Angels … and the Red Sox at Fenway from Sept. 20-22.

That series may only matter to them if the Sox find winning consistency, imminently. The sort that Kansas City has, erasing a seven-game hole in the AL Central to tie Cleveland for first before losing Wednesday. The sort of another from that division, which won 13 of 16 as the Twins skidded to creep into the fringes of the wild-card race.

The Tigers, Boston’s hosts this weekend as we reach September.

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“It’s fun. This is why you play the game,” Tarik Skubal, Detroit’s young pitching star, told reporters after Detroit lost on Thursday. “But when you get caught up in that, it takes away from what we need to do. … The standings don’t matter if you don’t win.”

It largely echoes the words of his manager, AJ Hinch, who sounds appreciative that the Tigers are in some form of August postseason chatter for the first time in nearly a decade, but also entirely uninterested in it.

“I just don’t get anxious over what’s ahead. I don’t think about the series ahead. I don’t look to see what-ifs. I live in the moment and I ask our guys to do that and we’ve been very consistent,” he told reporters before Thursday’s loss. “How we respond today matters. What’s ahead doesn’t matter until we get there.”

The manager, Hinch, and his wayward lieutenant, Cora, are closing on four years from the end of their exiles after the Astros trash can spectacle. For some, the link will never disappear.

For others, the tie has grown more toward each trying to steward a young, potential-laden roster into something tangible. Hinch committed to sticking around for the task last winter, signing a long-term deal to stay in Detroit. Cora remained noncommittal to that deep into this season, but signed his extension in July.

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The pitching will be the first thing you notice. Detroit has, not unlike the Red Sox, pieced together success despite injuries and departures. Four of the 14 starters used by the Tigers this season are on the injured list, and a fifth (Jack Flaherty) was traded away at the deadline.

The Sox, however, will see them get healthier. Casey Mize, who hasn’t pitched in two months due to a left hamstring strain, is expected to come off the 60-day injured list to start Friday. (He’s looked sharp in rehab work.)

They’ll also see their best — Skubal, the clear favorite to win the AL Cy Young with a 2.58 ERA and all the supporting metrics to back it, is in line for Saturday.

The Sox, for what it’s worth, hit Skubal hard in 2022 (4 2/3 innings, 6 runs) and 2023 (5 1/3 innings, 4 earned runs) visits to Fenway. Rob Refsnyder and Triston Casas slugged homers off him in each game, respectively.

There’ll be no Javier Báez, the Tigers announcing at the beginning of the week he needs right hip surgery. What is it about shortstops signed in the 2021-22 offseason?

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Javier Báez (Signed December 2021): 360 games since, .221/.262/.347, 1.9 fWAR

Trevor Story (Signed March 2022): 145 games since, .227/.288/.394, 2.9 fWAR

What there will be is a young roster that, much like the Red Sox, is finding themselves. Detroit’s top five hitters during this year are all pre-arbitration 20-somethings — Zach McKinstry, Matt Vierling, Parker Meadows, Kerry Carpenter, Spencer Torkelson, followed closely by Jake Rogers (all of 29 behind the plate) and Colt Keith, who signed a six-year deal before the season … and before his major-league debut.

“We have a variety of guys on this team. Some who are established and they’ve been here … [and] others that are trying to make a case. We’re trying to do that under the umbrella of, take advantage of all the opportunity you can,” Hinch told reporters earlier this month. “Everything matters.”

Torkelson’s story feels most interesting. The first overall pick in the 2020 draft broke camp with the Tigers as their starting first baseman in 2022. He struggled, but stuck and hit 31 homers in 2023, playing in all but three games.

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The struggles came harder this season, and he was demoted to Triple A after Detroit’s June series at Fenway, hitting .201 with strikeouts in nearly a quarter of his at-bats and ugly defensive numbers at first base. He remained in the minors until mid-month, and though he wasn’t overpowering there, he’s hit .311 with seven extra-base hits in 12 games since his recall.

He’s also turned 25 since his recall, a reminder that young players often do not have linear ascensions to their potential. (It’s been argued, somewhat smartly, that the contraction in the minor leagues has made such struggles more common.)

It’s a reminder I dare say fewer of us need after watching the 2024 Red Sox for five months.

These specific three games this weekend likely won’t loom large in the larger paths of these two franchises. Tigers fans are, speaking generally, just happy to be back in the late summer discussion. Red Sox fans are in a bit of a different place given the mood around the franchise and the complaints about its direction, but I suspect they aren’t far off from that either.

A playoff berth, at the best of times this season, was probably a 50-50 proposition. Now, we’re in the phase where we must still humor the idea, even if we know that’s what we’re doing.

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What comes next is what matters. Building on this somewhat surprising rediscovery of optimism about the Red Sox, and noting that, actually, there might really be some light on the horizon.

It will not simply rise like the Sun, though. Because there are teams like the Tigers out there, seeing its peak from much the same place these Red Sox are and just as eager (if not more) to shed the darkness.





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Detroit, MI

Vigil, protest held for Renee Nicole Good at Detroit’s Clark park

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Vigil, protest held for Renee Nicole Good at Detroit’s Clark park


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The name Renee Nicole Good bounced off the buildings of southwest Detroit as hundreds marched on the evening of Friday, Jan. 9, following Good’s fatal shooting by an immigration agent in Minneapolis earlier in the week. 

A candlelight vigil was held at 6 p.m. at the city’s Clark Park in memory of Good, before attendees took off marching down Vernor Highway. 

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As of 7:30 p.m., the mass crowd had reached Cavalry Street, about half a mile away from the park, and turned, yelling “What do we want? Justice ” and calling for ICE’s ousting from communities.

Good, 37, was in her car when she was shot in the head on Wednesday, Jan.7, by a federal immigration officer in south Minneapolis. She leaves behind three children, ages 6, 12 and 15.

The shooting was recorded by witnesses and heightened political and community tensions over federal immigration enforcement as part of President Donald Trump’s nationwide immigration operations. The Trump administration has since said the shooting was done in self-defense, USA TODAY reports.

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Protests have occurred in cities across the U.S. since Good’s death, including gatherings in Michigan, and additional demonstrations are scheduled throughout the weekend.

This is a developing story.



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Debating Mike McDaniel’s fit for Detroit Lions OC job

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Debating Mike McDaniel’s fit for Detroit Lions OC job


But we also can’t ignore the drastic fall-off from the Dolphins’ offense. Partially because of injuries to Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill over the past two seasons, the Dolphins have finished 22nd and 25th in scoring offense in 2024 and 2025, respectively. Injuries can be used as an excuse, but the greatest coordinators find a way through the adversity.

Beyond that, there are questions about his philosophical and schematic fit. While the Lions have built their offenses on grit and physicality, McDaniel seems to favor speed and finesse. But maybe that’s exactly what the Lions need. Detroit has two speedy players in Jameson Williams and Jahmyr Gibbs, who could probably be utilized more creatively, and it’s hard to imagine anyone better than McDaniel to do so.

McDaniel also has a very long coaching history with a lot of different coaching influences and schemes—including his closest coaching guru: Kyle Shanahan. The 49ers head coach has a scheme that is both more congruent with what the Lions do and much more adaptable.

On this EMERGENCY PODCAST, our crew debates the fit of McDaniel in Detroit, along with our thoughts on the Lions’ other known candidate: Commanders quarterbacks coach David Blough.

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Before that, Erik Schlitt, Ryan Mathews, and I discuss our biggest takeaways from Lions general manager Brad Holmes’ end-of-season press conference, including the future of David Montgomery, whether Holmes really took accountability for his mistakes, and our confidence in him moving forward.

You can catch our discussion in the embedded podcast below or on any podcasting platform you’d prefer. Just search “Pride of Detroit.”

You can also catch video of the show over on our YouTube pages. Here are the links:



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Tarik Skubal, Tigers can’t agree on 2026 salary. Here’s what happens

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Tarik Skubal, Tigers can’t agree on 2026 salary. Here’s what happens


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The Detroit Tigers and left-hander Tarik Skubal did not agree to terms on a one-year contract for the 2026 season before the 8 p.m. deadline Thursday, Jan. 8, to exchange salary figures in the arbitration process.

Skubal filed at $32 million; the Tigers filed at $19 million.

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It’s a difference of $13 million.

An arbitration panel will review the case during a hearing scheduled for late January or early to mid-February. The arbitrators must determine whether Skubal is worth more or less than the $25.5 million midpoint. If he’s worth more, they will select his $32 million proposal; if less, they will select the Tigers’ $19 million proposal. The panel isn’t allowed to choose a salary in between $19 million and $32 million.

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The Tigers operate as a file-and-trial club in salary arbitration under president of baseball operations Scott Harris, meaning there won’t be further negotiations with Skubal regarding a one-year contract. A multi-year contract could still be negotiated, but it’s highly unlikely.

Skubal – represented by agent Scott Boras – reaches free agency after the 2026 season. The 29-year-old is positioned to become the first pitcher in MLB history to receive a $400 million contract.

If the two sides were to reach an agreement before a hearing, it would likely be a one-year contract with a player option, thus maintaining Skubal’s path to free agency in the 2026-27 offseason.

The reigning back-to-back American League Cy Young winner was projected by MLB Trade Rumors to receive $17.8 million in his third and final year of salary arbitration. He previously earned $2.65 million in 2024, then $10.15 million in 2025.

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Why couldn’t the Tigers and Skubal agree on a salary for 2026?

The arbitration case for Skubal is unusually complex, thanks to a rarely used provision highlighted by ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Because Skubal has more than five years of MLB service time, he isn’t limited to comparing himself only to past arbitration-eligible players. Instead, he can compare himself to any player in baseball.

Those unique rights allow Skubal – who has five years, 114 days of service time – to point to MLB’s highest-paid pitchers (such as Max Scherzer’s $43.3 million per year from 2022-24 or Zack Wheeler’s $42 million per year from 2025-27), arguing that his elite performance warrants a salary in that range – not in the $17.8 million range, as projected by MLB Trade Rumors.

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That’s what pushed the Tigers and Skubal to an arbitration hearing.

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

The current record for the largest one-year arbitration contract belongs to outfielder Juan Soto, who agreed to $31 million with the New York Yankees for the 2024 season.

If Skubal wins the arbitration hearing, he will surpass Soto and claim the new record with his proposed $32 million salary. If Skubal loses, then he will earn the $19 million salary proposed by the Tigers.

There are two other arbitration records on the line.

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The highest-paid arbitration-eligible pitcher belongs to right-hander David Price, who earned $19.75 million with the Tigers in 2015 – his fourth year in the arbitration process as a Super Two qualifier. The largest raise for an arbitration-eligible pitcher belongs to right-hander Jacob deGrom, who surged from $7.4 million to $17 million – an increase of $9.6 million – with the New York Mets in 2019.

Those records for pitchers will belong to Skubal – but only if his proposed $32 million salary is selected by the arbitration panel. He will fall just short of the records if the panel selects the Tigers’ proposed $19 million.

Skubal is the best pitcher in baseball.

More notably, he is on a Hall of Fame trajectory.

In 2025, Skubal registered a 2.21 ERA with 33 walks (4.4% walk rate) and 241 strikeouts (32.2% strikeout rate) across 195⅓ innings in 31 starts. He made the All-Star Game for the second time in his six-year MLB career.

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Skubal became the first back-to-back AL Cy Young winner since right-hander Pedro Martínez in 1999-2000, leading the AL with a 2.39 ERA in 2024 and a 2.21 ERA in 2025.

The Tigers haven’t been to an arbitration hearing since right-hander Michael Fulmer in 2019.

Fulmer lost the case, receiving the Tigers’ proposed $2.8 million salary rather than his requested $3.4 million. Before that hearing, the Tigers hadn’t participated in an arbitration hearing since 2001 – and the Tigers haven’t lost a case since 2000.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

Listen to our weekly Tigers show “Days of Roar” every Monday afternoon during the season and Tuesday afternoon during the offseason on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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