The Detroit Tigers announced on Friday that they are giving general manager Al Avila a multi-year extension. The announcement comes while the Tigers are on the road facing the Boston Red Sox, a team made up of plenty of former Tigers, including Dave Dombrowski, the man Avila replaced.
The details of the contract weren’t released, but Aliva will be in Detroit much longer than his initial contract that was ending in 2020.
Detroit Tigers Chairman and CEO, Christopher Ilitch praised Avila’s focus and has faith in the plan that Avila has implemented for the team.
“It’s clear to anyone that follows Tigers baseball that our organization is undergoing a significant transformation,” Ilitch said. “I’ve been impressed with Al’s leadership and focus, and the steadfast way he has led our baseball operations since becoming general manager. Al has methodically implemented his plan, and the execution of that plan has demonstrated progress and results in scouting, drafting, player development and analytics.”
Ilitch goes on to speak about how impressed he is with the group of prospects that Avila has been able to acquire.
“I am especially pleased with the progress we have made in securing a stable of talented prospects which bodes well for our future. Al has a proven track record in this game, and his nearly three decades of experience is paying dividends in this rebuilding phase.”
That group of prospect includes four players in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospects: RHP Casey Mize, RHP Matt Manning, RHP Franklin Perez and INF Isaac Paredes.
Avila has been in charge of the team for four seasons. In that time, the Tigers have had one winning record, 86-75 in 2016, the worst record in baseball, 64-98 in 2017, and a .425 winning percentage.
Currently, the Tigers are 26-54 and on pace to have their worst record under Avila. They’re winning 32.5 percent of the games, and are second to last in the Central Division going into the All-Star break.