Tigers fire GM Avila; 1 winning season since ’15
Al Avila is out as executive vice president and general manager of the Detroit Tigers, it was announced Wednesday.
“Once I decided to make a change, I sat down with Al and thanked him for his nearly 22 years of service to our organization,” CEO Christopher Ilitch said in a statement.
Ilitch, who invested millions in the offseason in an attempt to return his team to contention, said he would oversee the search process for Avila’s replacement. Assistant general manager Sam Menzin takes over the day-to-day leadership role.
“I want to re-establish our momentum and progress towards building a winning team and I am driven to find a talented executive to help us do that,” Ilitch said.
The Tigers have had only one winning season (2016) since Avila was promoted to general manager on Aug. 4, 2015, after serving as Dave Dombrowski’s assistant.
Detroit has the second-worst record in the American League at 43-68, and the Tigers are last in the AL Central entering Wednesday’s game.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
