After 22 seasons with the organization, Al Avila was unceremoniously let go by the Detroit Tigers. His role as GM and EVP put the franchise in a hole in recent years. Example: Javier Baez signed a six year, $140 million contract during the off-season. This signing was supposed to put the Tigers in the conversation of a playoff contender. El Mago has struggled to the point that he has become a meme. Also, the young talent around him seems to regress. Even if not all of the blame should go to Avila, he was given the task to lead a rebuild which is still going on five years later. Fans, media, and now management has had enough and the organization decided to cut their losses......while losses pile up on the field.
In 2015, after spending the decade as one of the top teams in the American League, GM Dave Dombrowski was let go by owner Mike Ilitch after Dave decided to trade off pieces to rebuild for the future. Ilitch wanted to add pieces to continue contending. The ol' difference of philosophy scenario. Avila was promoted to GM after years as the assistant GM. He made history as the first Cuban-born general manager. Despite signing an extension in 2019, critics were chirping over the fact that Avila had players who could be contributors, but never seem to progress like they hoped.
I'm going to throw out four names at you: Spencer Torkelson, Casey Mize, Riley Greene and Tarik Skubal. These four represent the future of the Detroit Tigers. Right now, it's been a mixed bag so far. Torkelson struggled and was sent back down to Triple A. He will be good eventually. Mize has shown flashes of brilliance, but unfortunately, has to miss a season due to Tommy John surgery. Skubal, like Mize, has shown flashes. He will miss the rest of this season with an arm injury. Greene had the hype coming into the big league and is showing promise despite his numbers being pedestrian. The four were are drafted by Avila. It's a sink-or-swim situation for their development.
If there are three moves that put the Tigers in the neverending position they are in, its obvious to point out.
THE JUSTIN VERLANDER TRADE
In 2017, Avila made the tough decision to convince future Hall-of-Famer Justin Verlander to agree to a trade to Houston for prospects. Verlander wanted to be a Detroit Tiger for life, but knew he wasn't going to win a title for them. Justin became an Astro and "won" a title. The three prospects traded for Verlander were Franklin Perez, Daz Cameron and Jake Rogers. Not one of these players have been a contributor to the Detroit Tigers. In fact, Perez was released by the organization last season.
THE TIGERS LETTING MAX SCHERZER GO IN FREE AGENCY
Another future Hall-of-Famer Max Scherzer was headed into free agency in 2015, and the Tigers had a window of opportunity still open. Mike Ilitch was willing to spend to keep Scherzer in a Tiger uniform. Unfortunately, the Nationals signed Scherzer to a huge seven year $210 million contact. Extending him could have extended the Tigers' run. Instead, Detroit threw $110 million at Jordan Zimmermann. Safe to say, Zimmermann didn't live up to the contract. Also, Max won a World Series title with Washington in 2019.
THE TIGERS SIGNING EDUARDO RODRIGUEZ AND JAVY BAEZ
At the time, it was a good idea. Detroit signed Rodriguez to a five year, $77 million contract during free agency this year, along with Javy Baez. Both Rodriguez and Baez have had seasons to forget. Javy is batting .224 with only 44 RBI. Rodriguez is okay in the stat sheet, but missed a month due to personal reasons. He straight up stopped talking to the team during that time, raising concerns about his well-being. It is their first year with the franchise, but it should be better.
Let's be honest with ourselves, ever since Mike Ilitch died in 2017, the Detroit Tigers lost their vision and drive. Mike was willing to open the checkbook to secure top players for a World Series run. His son, Chris, took over after his death and the team is stuck in mediocrity due to the unwillingness to shell out for marquee players and continuing with a rebuild that has stalled. Remember Akil Baddoo? He had that one month of great baseball that had the league talking. He has regressed to the point that the Tigers wanted to release him. And of course, Miguel Cabrera. He collected his 3000th hit earlier this season and is clearly tolling away in Detroit until he enters Cooperstown.
Al Avila's legacy in Detroit is full of broken promises and many what-ifs. The moves he made had the Tigers far away from contention. If there was one move that will define his legacy, it was a savage one. In 2017, Al traded his son, Alex, to the Cubs. That's right, folks. Al Avila traded his OWN SON for prospects. If you're asking, the prospects haven't panned out.
Fitting, uh?
(Sources: MiLB.com, Detroit Free Press, Wikipedia, Federalbaseball.com, Baseball-Reference.com, Detroit News.com)
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