Detroit Tigers Statement After Firing GM Al Avila
The Detroit Tigers announced on Wednesday afternoon that Al Avila will no longer serve as the team's general manager.
With a less than stellar record of 43-68 record in 2022, Tigers owner Chris Ilitch finally decided to make the move.
Avila's record of 404-573 record since August of 2015 caused supporters to lose confidence in the direction of the current rebuild.
Here is an excerpt of the statement that was released by the club.
"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. Al's loyalty and dedication has served as an example to all during his time as a leader in our baseball operations department.
I will oversee the search process for our next baseball operations leader, in collaboration with several members of our baseball and business operations executive teams.
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. They'll be entering an organization with many foundational elements in place and an exciting path forward. Tigers fans deserve winning team, and I'm highly focused and committed to deliver that to people of Detroit and Michigan. With new baseball operations leadership will come a fresh perspective toward evolving our roster and maximizing our talent to reach our objectives. To be clear, our goals are to build a team that wins on a sustainable basis, qualifies for the playoffs, and ultimately wins the World Series.
Avila was part of the organization for nearly 22 years, as he joined the club as an assistant general manager in 2002.
In the released statement, he expressed:
"For nearly 22 years, I have given my heart and soul to this franchise, and I want to thank Mr. and Mrs. Ilitch, along with Chris, for the opportunity and treating me and my family as their own," Avila said in a statement. "We've celebrated successes and enjoyed great moments, and I'm proud to have worked with so many talented people in baseball operations and throughout the organization.
I'll cherish our friendships and the successes we all celebrated together. To Tigers fans, you're the best and you deserve a winner. I wish the results would have been better this season but know there is a lot to look forward to in the coming years. God bless everyone."
Current vice president and assistant general manager Sam Menzin will continue to serve as the "point of contact" for the Tigers until a replacement is named.
