You don’t have to squint too hard at the Seattle Mariners' offseason tea leaves to see the message flashing in neon: contenders don’t sit still.
And if you’re the Detroit Tigers — supposedly entering your “competitive window,” supposedly ready to build around Tarik Skubal, Riley Greene, and company — how do you look at what’s happening in Seattle and not feel the temperature rising?
Seattle came one game away from its World Series appearance in franchise history, beating the Tigers in the ALDS to keep their run going. One. And instead of leaning back and saying, “We’ll run it back,” they opened the winter swinging — Josh Naylor for five years, $92.