In his 10 years as an MLB executive, Scott Harris has seen the same front office structure produce five playoff teams, three division winners and a World Series champ. The Tigers new president of baseball operations is bringing that structure to Detroit.
"I intend to hire a GM," Harris said Tuesday at his introductory press conference at Comerica Park.
In other words, Harris is not the Tigers new general manager. He was already GM of his hometown Giants, a job he wouldn't have left for a lateral move in Detroit. But now that Harris has climbed to the top of the front office ladder, he knows the importance of the rungs below him.
Harris joined the Cubs in 2012 beneath then-president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and then-GM Jed Hoyer and eventually rose to assistant GM after helping the club win the World Series for the first time in over a century. And he became GM of the Giants in 2019 beneath president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and helped the club win the most games in franchise history two years later.
On top of the Cubs and Giants, highly successful teams like the Dodgers, Cardinals and Rays employ the same front-office setup. So one of Harris' first moves in Detroit will by hiring a GM as his top lieutenant.
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"These jobs are increasingly large and complicated," he said. "Every single year they get more complex. Having another bright and talented person to partner with is critically important. If you look around the game, there are a lot of very successful organizations over the last handful of years that have adopted this approach of having a president and GM.
"I think it gives you an edge, bringing more talented people to this front office and empowering them to make decisions that will ultimately put a better team on the field. That’s what we’re trying to do and a GM is gonna be a big part of it."
Harris, 35, won't have a timeline for the hire until he gets more familiar with the inner workings of the organization. He said he wants to "understand the strengths and areas of potential improvement" for the Tigers before naming a GM. He did say he would consider someone from within, with assistant GM's Sam Menzin and Jay Sartori being obvious candidates.
"There are people in this organization that have tremendous reputations throughout the game. I haven’t worked with them personally. I won’t be able to answer that question until I work with them for a bit personally. But it’s a great start to have great reputations coming into this, and if there is anyone internally that fits the description and need for a GM, they’re absolutely going to be a candidate."
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