Detroit Tigers: 6 minor league coaches fired; future of staff in question

The Detroit Tigers organization has fired six minor league coaches, and they have not confirmed the future of other coaches within the organization.

After a rough season in the big leagues, a lot of questions have been raised about the direction of the organization as a whole. According to the Detroit News, the Detroit Tigers management has begun to make moves by getting rid of six minor league coaches, and not giving a clear indication regarding who will return next year.

Erie was the only team in the Tigers’ organization that finished with a winning record. As a result of this, big changes are being made throughout the organization. David Littlefield, the Tigers vice president for development, has confirmed the following releases:

• Basilio Cabrera, Triple-A Toledo’s third-base coach.
• Brian Harper, hitting coach at Double-A Erie.
• Bill Dancy, Tigers minor-league field coordinator.
• Eddie Dennis, a versatile coach who worked on manager Lance Parrish’s staff at Single-A West Michigan.
• Luis Lopez, manager for the Gulf Coast League East rookie team.
• Jose Parra, pitching coach at GCL East.

There has been no indication given that Triple-A manager, Doug Mientkiewicz, will be returning in 2020. There has been speculation that Double-A Erie’s manager, Mike Rabelo, might get the call up after such a good season. It is more than likely there will be more coaching changes as the offseason begins and progresses.

One manager will not be going anywhere. Ron Gardenhire is currently signed through 2020, and Alex Avila has confirmed via the Detroit Free Press that he will be returning for at least the final year of his contract. Gardenhire has made it clear that he intends to stay with the squad throughout the rebuild and plans to sign a contract extension.

Once Detroit’s season ends, there will likely be big changes at the major league level as well. 2019 has been a rough year for the squad and Avila will likely look to bring in some new faces to try and help the progress of the rebuild.