Tigers Manager AJ Hinch Declares Relationship with Front Office is 'Rock Solid'

The Detroit Tigers say there is complete unity between their main on and off field decision makers.

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The Detroit Tigers have a way of frustrating their fans a little bit with the way they have gone about things especially over the last few seasons, both on the field and in the front office.

Most acknowledge that manager A.J. Hinch is among the best in baseball, however the relentless commitment to analytics and matchups can have a way of making people question things. As for spending, nobody is ever happy unless their team is signing all the biggest stars, making the Los Angeles Dodgers potentially the only perpetually satisfied fanbase in sports.

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Despite fans not being happy -- especially during what has been a particularly quiet offseason -- it sounds like Hinch has been in complete lockstep with his boss, president of baseball operations Scott Harris.

In his recent appearance on 97.1 The Ticket as relayed by Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press (subscription required), Hinch was asked about his relationship with Harris, and it certainly seems like the two most important decision makers in Detroit are on the same page.

Tigers Two Main Decision Makers Have Each Other's Backs

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"My relationship with Scott [Harris] is rock solid," Hinch said. "We are aligned in trying to lead this team to a World Series and win a World Series. We're both about winning, we're both about keeping each other sharp...I need him to be really good at his job for me to be good at my job, and he needs me to be really good at my job to execute the things that he's doing in his job. That partnership is super important."

Hinch took it even a step further than that, saying he gets Harris' opinions on position battles, lineup questions, and how the defense is going to be aligned, especially during spring training.

"He sees the organization from a different lens and different perspective, and we need that on the field to keep us sharp in our jobs," he continued. "He lets me do my job, we banter back and forth. I'll come up with an idea and he'll tell me it's crazy, he'll offer an idea and I'll tell him it's crazy. It's part of trying to drive this organization to the highest level that we can."

Detroit fans can look at this a couple of different ways, but for better or worse it seems like the conservative approach this offseason is mutual between both Harris and Hinch.

Tigers Obviously in Communication When It Comes to Lack of Moves

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One example of this is clearly the third base position. While conventional wisdom would suggest Detroit going after Alex Bregman or someone else, Hinch instead staunchly defended his current option Zach McKinstry and the All-Star first half he had last season.

If Hinch and Harris were not in lockstep, Hinch would be pushing for Bregman behind closed doors and likely wouldn't go out of his way to prop up McKinstry.

Hinch, a long advocate of pitching chaos, likely has a hand in every move the team has made, meaning he may be content with them only signing Drew Anderson for the starting rotation no matter how much it annoys fans.

Those same fans who are frustrated seemingly can direct it not only at Harris and ownership, but also Hinch as well. Time will tell how their winter strategies wind up paying off.