Averaging 66.4 wins per year since he took over as general manger, has Al Avila on the hot seat. Detroit Tigers fans have taken their social media #FireAvila posts and turned it into an actual event. The fans held a fire Avila night at Comerica Park. So what has happened? Why has the Tigers rebuild failed? That is a lot to unpack. Let’s get started.
To say that Al Avila has made some questionable trades is being kind. Remember when former pitching ace Justin Verlander was traded to the Huston Astros? The return for the future Hall of Fame pitcher was Franklin Perez, Daz Cameron and Jake Rogers. None of those players are regulars on the Tigers roster. Former Tigers slugger J. D. Martinez was shipped to the Arizona Dimandbacks for Dawel Lugo, Jose King and Sergio Alcantara none of whom area still in the Tigers system.
Do not get me wrong, Avila has made other trades just as lackluster as those. It gets worse. The Tigers have really faired no better drafting players, at least impactful players. Avila’s first round draft picks have been a mixed bag and not in a good way.
The Detroit Tigers rebuild was said to be over and it was time to add players and climb the standings. The Tigers have the second worst record in MLB and sit dead last in the AL Central. The team has been a disaster, the errors and players underperforming nightly has lead to a near empty ballpark.
So where does the team go? First and foremost the ball is in Detroit Tigers owner Christopher Illitch’s corner. He holds Al Avila’s fate. Should he choose to go in a different direction, then perhaps he should allow manager AJ Hinch to help with any GM search.
Hinch is very bright baseball man and would be helpful bringing in a GM who could right the ship. Illitch needs to take a good long look and see that it simply is not working. The Illitch owned Detroit Red Wings are trending up in their rebuild, as are the Lions and Pistons while the Tigers have never really gotten off the ground.
I suspect no move will be made until the season concludes. Tiger fans let me hear your thoughts on this. Leave a comment and let it all out.
