Jim Leyland’s No. 10 was retired by the Detroit Tigers, putting the Hall of Fame manager’s name and number in white on a brick wall next to World Series winner Sparky Anderson.

“When I look out on that wall and see my name with the Tiger greats, it’s hard to believe,” Leyland said Saturday night during a pregame ceremony before Detroit played the Kansas City Royals.

Leyland arrived for the on-field presentation after a slow ride in a white Corvette, giving him a chance to wave to fans from the foul pole in right to Detroit’s dugout along the third base line.

He was voted into baseball’s Hall of Fame last December, two weeks shy of his 79th birthday and last month became the 23rd manager inducted.

Leyland won 1,769 regular-season games over 22 seasons, including a 700-597 record from 2006-13 with the Tigers. He led Detroit to the World Series in 2006, his first season as the team’s manager, and in 2012 when the franchise won its second of four straight AL Central championships.

Pitching reinforcements coming for Rangers

Jacob deGrom is set to face hitters for the first time since an elbow operation last year, and Tyler Mahle is on the verge of his first start for the Texas Rangers as he returns from Tommy John surgery in 2023.

“They’re not going to let you go before you’re supposed to,” deGrom said Saturday after what was supposed to be the final bullpen session for the two-time NL Cy Young Award winner before facing hitters. “The goal’s to get out there and help this team. Obviously I’ve been zero help this year, so the goal is to get out there and help us. Hopefully that’s not too far away.”

Mahle, a right-hander who signed a $22 million, two-year contract last fall, should be days from a return after six rehab starts in the minor leagues.

During the latest skid, starters Jon Gray and Max Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young winner, landed on the 15-day injured list.

Varland, Saints keep rolling in Iowa

Louie Varland has tried to turn his season around for the St. Paul Saints since giving up a career-high 12 runs on June 23. Saturday in Iowa was another step.

Varland (4-8) pitched six scoreless innings for St. Paul in a 5-1 victory against the Iowa Cubs. Varland allowed five hits and one walk in his outing, and he struck out eight batters. He’s allowed no runs in three of his last four starts.

DaShawn Keirsey Jr. had two hits and drove in a run for the Saints, while Wynton Bernard doubled and had two RBIs as St. Paul won for the fourth time in five games against Iowa.

Varland was dominating on Saturday, except against the leadoff hitters, who reached in each of the first four innings. But Varland quickly dispatched the Cubs after.

Bernard’s two-run double opened a 3-0 lead in the third inning after Jair Camargo had plated the first run of the game earlier in the inning with an RBI groundout. Two more runs came across in the sixth as Dalton Shuffield had an RBI double and Keirsey drove in a run with a single.

Man sentenced for stealing Robinson statue

The man who stole a bronze Jackie Robinson statue that was cut off at the ankles and found days later smoldering in a trash can in a city park in Kansas is going to spend about 15 years in prison, although most of that time is related to a burglary that happened a few days after the January statue heist.

A judge sentenced Ricky Alderete Friday on three different cases that he said in court stemmed from his addiction to fentanyl.

The League 42 youth baseball league plans to unveil a replacement statue of Robinson crafted from the original mold Monday at a park in Wichita, Kansas.

Alderete pleaded guilty to the theft. He was sentenced to 18 months and ordered to pay $41,500 restitution for stealing the statue. He got the most time for an aggravated burglary that happened Feb. 1 that carried a sentence of 13.5 years in prison.

football

Titans’ Hopkins won’t need knee surgery

Tennessee Titans star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins won’t require surgery for a knee injury suffered in training camp but “will miss several weeks,” first-year coach Brian Callahan said Saturday.

Callahan did not detail the nature of the injury, which Hopkins suffered earlier this week. The 32-year-old Hopkins was seen with a wrap on his left knee on Wednesday.

“It’s not a surgical issue, so the timeline could vary on those injuries. So it’ll be a few weeks, probably,” Callahan said.

A three-time All-Pro, Hopkins led the Titans last season with 75 receptions for 1,057 yards and seven touchdowns.

Seahawks expect QB Smith back next week

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith is expected to return to practice during the upcoming week after missing a few days with hip and knee issues, coach Mike Macdonald said Saturday.

Smith was a spectator during the Seahawks’ fan fest practice at Lumen Field. Afterward, Macdonald said that while Smith was set to have another set of tests, he expected the quarterback to get some practice time soon.

“We’re still going through that process but it looks optimistic,” Macdonald said.

Smith was jostled during practice last Tuesday and had imaging on Thursday.

Briefly

basketball >> The Dallas Mavericks are bringing back Spencer Dinwiddie in a reunion with the guard who played a key role in the club’s run to the 2022 Western Conference finals. The Mavericks announced the signing of Dinwiddie on Saturday along with undrafted rookie free agent Jamarion Sharp, who played on their summer league team.

football >> Tyreek Hill and the Miami Dolphins agreed to a restructured contract Saturday worth $90 million with $65 million guaranteed, his agent told The Associated Press. The deal negotiated by Drew and Jason Rosenhaus raises Hill’s four-year total of fully guaranteed money to $106.5 million.

football >> Arizona Cardinals linebacker BJ Ojulari is out for the season after suffering a knee injury during training camp.

— From news services