Detroit Tigers Newsletter: Jim Leyland is in the Hall of Fame. So who's up for 2025?
Sometimes, when an MLB franchise is truly lucky, the perfect manager lands right in its lap.
Consider John McGraw with the Giants in the early 1900s; his do-anything-to-win attitude fit right in both with a sudden sense of professionalism, both in New York and in a sport suddenly dealing with two pro leagues.
Or Casey Stengel in the 1950s and ’60s, whose homespun folks-terism was just distracting enough from a Yankees dynasty that should have been terrifying, and then distracting in a different way from an expansion Mets squad the Yanks’ equal in ineptitude.
And then there’s Jim Leyland, who won everywhere (except Colorado), but seemingly truly clicked — sorry, Pittsburgh — when he returned to the Detroit Tigers organization in 2006: A working-class manager, who climbed the ladder from Double-A failure to baseball’s greatest stage, all while chowing down on the clubhouse buffet, sneaking a cig in the dugout and wearing his emotions on his sleeves at all times.
We could get into why Leyland fit so well, but the Freep’s Jeff Seidel tackled that pretty well last week, pointing out that his greatest gift, in a sport increasingly all about the numbers, was an emotional intelligence rare in any industry.
That EQ was on display Sunday as well, as the Baseball Hall of Fame inducted its latest class — featuring players Adrián Beltré, Todd Helton and Joe Mauer. They had their moments, but Leyland had a captive audience for his mix of humor and honesty that, well, we’ve missed in the 11 or so seasons since he last ruled the confines of Comerica Park.
Our Man Seidel was there for that, too, and the whole Cooperstown weekend, as Leyland hit one last home run into the crowd.
Hello, and welcome to the Hall Call Newsletter.
THE KIDS: Detroit Tigers prospects Max Clark, Kevin McGonigle called up to High-A West Michigan
And now?
Now that Leyland, Beltré, Helton and Mauer (and their plaques) are safely ensconced in the Hall, it’s time to get back to what we do best: Making lists and picking fights, as we look ahead to the Hall’s class of 2025.
Left-handed outfield Ichiro Suzuki is in, on his first ballot, thanks to his 3,089 hits. Left-hander pitcher CC Sabathia probably is, too, thanks to his 3,093 strikeouts. Closer Billy Wagner needs just a few more votes after getting more than 73% of the vote last year. And then?
Well, we won’t go through all the first-timers, but we will note that there are four former Tigers hitting the ballot this winter. And so, let’s break down the Hall arguments for the quartet, in ascending order of WAR, according to Baseball Reference:
RHP Fernando Rodney
The case for: Despite all the times he was downright unwatchable in Detroit, Rodney turned in some seasons that were straight bangers (like 2012, when his 0.60 ERA over 74⅔ innings with Tampa Bay landed him a 2012 AL Comeback Player of the Year award and a fifth-place finish in 2012 AL Cy Young voting). Rodney finished his career with 327 saves — 18th-most all-time (though just two more than active reliever Aroldis Chapman entering Sunday) — and voters are slowly coming around on inducting closers, with Wagner (73.8% of the vote in 2024) likely to get the call next year.
The case against: Of course, Wagner had about 50 more saves and 250 more strikeouts than Rodney in 30 fewer innings, as well as a much lower walk rate. Unfortunately, this isn’t the Sideways Hat Hall of Fame, and Rodney’s career 6.8 bWAR — reflecting a 3.80 ERA with 943 strikeouts and 464 walks over 933 innings — is the second-lowest among first-year eligibles next year.
The verdict: Hahahahahah … no.
RHP Edwin Jackson
The case for: Wait, he’s eligible? Despite an independent-league comeback attempt in 2021, the Hall has him on its list for 2025 after a 17-season career that saw him play for a record 14 franchises. That includes twice for the Tigers, in 2009 — his lone All-Star nod — and 2019. Along the way, he was the youngest player in baseball for two straight seasons, threw a no-hitter (2010 with Arizona, after being traded for Max Scherzer), won a World Series (2011 with the Cardinals) and struck out just over 1,500 batters.
The case against: He also issued nearly 800 walks in 1,960 innings and led the majors in losses (18) one year (2013), and finished with just 8.2 bWAR. Were this the Laundry Hall of Fame, he might be in, thanks to all those uniform changes. But …
The verdict: We’ll always have the 214 innings he threw for the Tigers in 2009, his career high. (And the 39⅓ he threw in 2019, with a 8.47 ERA, unfortunately.)
OF Curtis Granderson
The case for: The Tigers’ third-round pick in 2002 wound up with 344 career homers, three All-Star nods, two top-10 AL MVP finishes and a Silver Slugger award en route to 47.2 bWAR, a total that’s 35th among center fielders all-time. Maybe Granderson’s case will be helped by another center fielder who appears on his way in — consider these slash lines:
Player A: .249/.337/.465.
Player B: .254/.337/.486.
Player A is Granderson, while Player B is Andruw Jones, who received 61.6% of the vote in 2024 (with three years left on the ballot).
The case against: Of course, Jones was also a 10-time Gold Glove winner, while Granderson’s solid defensive reputation was never backed up by any hardware. Still, a bWAR total that’s 35th isn’t bad! Except at center field, which has only 19 representatives in the Hall. The average bWAR of a Hall of Fame center fielder? 71.1, compared to 65.1 from, say, left field. Oh, and one more slash line to consider:
Player A: .249/.337/.465.
Player C: .273/.355/.442
Player C, of course, would be ex-Tiger Chet Lemon, whose 55.7 bWAR over 16 seasons got him exactly one vote from the BBWAA in 1996.
The verdict: Granderson should top one vote, at least, but getting the 5% to stick around to 2026 might be the final whiff in Grandy’s career.
2B Ian Kinsler
The case for: Kinsler is third in bWAR (54.1) among first-year players on the 2025 ballot, behind only Ichiro Suzuki (a lock despite “only” having 60 bWAR) and CC Sabathia (probably in at 62.3 bWAR). We didn’t necessarily see it during his three seasons in Detroit — just 38 steals — but Kinsler displayed a rare mix of power (including being just one of 14 second basemen with multiple 30-homer seasons) and speed. Indeed, just four players to spend at least 60% of their games at second have topped 240 steals and 240 homers: Three Hall of Famers — Craig Biggio (291 homers, 414 steals), Ryne Sandberg (282/344) and Joe Morgan (268/689) — and Kinsler (257/243). Add in four All-Star nods and two Gold Gloves, and Kinsler’s case gets a little stronger; his bWAR ranks 20th all-time among second basemen, and ahead of seven Hall of Famers at the position.
The case against: Beating out Tony Lazzeri (47.6), Johnny Evers (47.7) and Red Schoendienst (44.8) isn’t THAT much of an accomplishment, especially when Kinsler was rarely recognized among baseball’s best players during his peak seasons. He received MVP votes in four seasons (only one of which, 2008, he made the All-Star Game, go figure), but never cracked the top 10 in voting, peaking at an 11th place finish in 2011. Meanwhile, fellow 2025 first-year second baseman Dustin Pedroia has an AL MVP nod plus two other top-10 finishes.
The verdict: Look, after years of stumping for Lou Whitaker (along with just about every Michigander who’s ever watched a Tigers game, including Jim Leyland this weekend) to make the Hall, we have no idea what qualifies as a Hall-worthy second baseman these days. Yes, at this point, it’s on the Hall and its hand-picked committees to induct Whitaker, rather than the writers. But when one second baseman with 75.1 bWAR (seventh-most at the position) is still on the outside, who knows who the heck else should make the Hall?
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An Erie feeling?
Meanwhile, entering the Erie SeaWolves’ Hall of Fame (eventually), we have right-hander Jackson Jobe, who launched the Double-A franchise’s fifth no-hitter with six nearly perfect innings — he walked two Binghamton Rumble Ponies — featuring 70 pitches on Saturday night. He then handed off to three relievers — Jake Higginbotham, Matt Seelinger and Garrett Hill — to close out the no-hitter, Erie’s first since Casey Mize threw one in 2019. So what’s next, according to the Freep’s Evan Petzold? “I want to pitch in the big leagues," Jobe said. "Getting to Double-A, you kind of start to see that light at the end of the tunnel."
Standing tall
Tigers outfielder Wenceel Pérez knows that tunnel all too well, after spending half of last season with the SeaWolves (with a less-than-impressive .727 OPS in Double-A). But in 16 July games in the majors, Pérez is showing an ability to adjust at the plate — literally, as Our Man Petzold noted over the weekend: The 24-year-old has three homers in July since realizing he needed to stand up at the plate to rediscover his line-drive swing.
21 (kids) to watch
Look, it was a busy week, between the Hall of Fame, the MLB All-Star Game, a minor-league no-hitter, the Tigers suddenly learning to hit (with the bases loaded, at least), and, oh yeah, the annual MLB draft. We’re well off finding which of this year’s picks will be Hall-worthy — or even worthy of making the majors — but here’s what we know about all 21 picks.
FIRST ROUND VS. SECOND ROUND (via Our Man Seidel): Yes, they faced each other in California.
ROUNDS 3-10 (via Our Man Petzold): Finally, some collegians enter the system.
ROUNDS 11-20: The brother of a Netflix star? That would be the Tigers’ 14th rounder.
3 (pros) to watch
It’s mmm … mmm … mmm-jury season? Three M&M(&M) Tigers to keep an eye on this week as the ailments pile up:
BLIGH MADRIS: Meet the Tigers’ new first baseman (against right-handers, at least) after Sunday’s promotion.
KENTA MAEDA: After just two relief stints, of differing effectiveness, the 36-year-old may be headed back to the rotation.
MATT MANNING: The oft-injured righty is, yes, on the IL again, after a lat strain in Triple-A.
Happy birthday, Torey!
While we’re on the topic of managers, let’s wish a happy 59th to Arizona Diamondbacks skipper Torey Lovullo. The former Tigers player — Sparky Anderson sung his praises in spring 1989, saying, “His baseball instincts are probably as good as Alan Trammell's, and that's saying a lot." — came up as a replacement for Leyland in October 2013, citing “an eye-catching performance as bench coach this year for the Red Sox.” The Tigers went with Brad Ausmus instead, leaving Lovullo to be hired by Arizona ahead of the 2017 season. Since then? Lovullo has 546 wins; the Tigers, 468.
Other Tigers birthdays this week: Joaquin Benoit (47 on Friday), Max Scherzer (40 on Saturday), Ray Boone (would have been 101 on Saturday; died in 2004).
TL;DR
As unlikely as a 2025 induction seems for an ex-Tiger, the next few years appear to have even fewer likely candidates. The class of 2026 brings 2016 AL Cy Young winner Rick Porcello onto the ballot (though we’re guessing Kate Upton’s a no vote), 2027 brings Alex Avila, Neftali Feliz, Derek Holland, Andrew Miller, Joakim Soria and Jordan Zimmermann and 2028 brings David Price and Justin Upton (Kate’s probably a yes vote on him). And 2029? We’re sure there’s some Tiger eligible then, but he’s probably no Mig deal.
Contact Ryan Ford at rford@freepress.com. Follow him on X (which used to be Twitter, y’know?) @theford.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers Newsletter: What makes a Hall of Fame second baseman?
