DETROIT (AP) β Yes, the Detroit Tigers will miss Max Scherzer, one of the game’s top right-handers. But his exit via free agency was by no means a shock.
Scherzer signed with the Washington Nationals this week after a five-year run in Detroit that included four division titles and a Cy Young Award in 2013. Now the Tigers will try for a fifth straight AL Central championship with a retooled rotation that also lost Rick Porcello. This may be the first time in a while that Detroit isn’t a solid favorite to win the division.
Right-hander Justin Verlander says he knows he needs to pitch better than last year, and the Tigers will also rely quite a bit on left-hander David Price, whom they acquired at least season’s trade deadline.
