Embed from Getty Images The ongoing Detroit Tigers rebuild took another turn this week. The new people the Tigers organization brought in were not a slap-in-the-face at the people they are replacing, it is widely viewed as something that needs to be done to move the organization forward.
Former Detroit Tigers, All-Star catcher Lance Parrish, who spent the past six seasons as a manager in the Tigers minor league system, moves into a special assistant role and will work with Tigers general manager Al Avila.
In a rather solid move, and one that I feel may be the most important move the Tigers announced, Josh Paul has been named the new quality control coach. He replaces Joe Vavra, who will take over as Detroit Tigers hitting coach. Paul, comes over from the Los Angeles Angels where he was a bench coach and spent time with the New York Yankees.
Detroit Tigers GM, Al Avila said ‘these personnel moves are a big step towards our goal of bringing Tigers fans and the city of Detroit the championship caliber ballclub they deserve.”
There were other moves Detroit made, that again I feel both will help the team and should not be overlooked:
Chis McDonald, is the new assistant athletic trainer
Matt Rosenhamer, is now assistant major league strength and conditioning coordinator
Kan Ikeda, major league advance scouting assistant
Kyle Lancki, major league video coordinator
Austin Tipp, major league video coordinator
Kenny Graham, director of player development
Dr. Georgia Giblin, director of performance science
Dan Hubbs, director of pitching development and strategies
Dave Owen, minor league field coordinator
Jordan Wergiles, coordinator of player development analytics
John Murrian, hitting coach West Michigan Whitecaps hitting coach Single-A
Bill Springman, Lakeland Flying Tigers hitting coach High Single-A
Of the new hires, the two that really stick out and can really help the rebuilding process are Dan Hubbs and Dr. Georgia Giblin. Hubbs will rove around the Tigers minor league system, setting up pitching routines for the Tigers slew of young talented pitchers. Something the Detroit Tigers have never done.
The Tigers have had many injuries the past few seasons. Which makes Giblin a VIP. He is in charge of maximizing player performance and health.
The Tigers are not expected to sign big name free agents this offseason, nor should they. They have made these key moves so next season when they do sign some big names, everyone will be on the same page.
I think these moves can do nothing but improve the organization. Every person brought in has a solid history of improving players at the position they are assigned. So it has already been a good offseason for the Detroit Tigers.
