Detroit Tigers’ GM Al Avila may be standing on thin ice

In part 3 of this miniseries where we discuss who’s to blame for the Detroit Tigers’ disastrous start, general manager Al Avila is next up on the chopping block.

Al Avila is a controversial figure amongst Tigers fans. Many fans have been clamoring for his firing for years, while others think he’s been handicapped by owner Chris Ilitch. But now that Ilitch has opened up his wallet a bit, should Avila get anymore chances?

The free agents that he signed this past offseason have all been impactful for the most part. Austin Meadows has been the team’s most consistent hitter by far. Javier Baez has shown off his wizardry at shortstop on more than one occasion, while also having his moments at the plate. Eduardo Rodriguez is coming off his best start of the season so far.

However, the free agents (at least this season) haven’t been the problem. It’s the drafting and development.

The Tigers have no depth in the organization right now. The outfield depth is particularly concerning with Willi Castro getting regular reps out there. The team has had so many injuries to start the year that this problem has only gotten worse.

Don’t expect any help to come from Triple-A Toledo any time soon, either. Any good talent the organization has is at the lower levels of the minors.

The team does appear to have a decent amount of pitching depth, with guys like Alex Faedo and Beau Brieske pitching some solid innings in the absence of starters Casey Mize and Matt Manning. But the problem with the team right now is the offense, and there are little to no internal options to choose from, and that’s on the GM.

What’s also not a particularly good look for Al Avila is most of the guys he brought in when he got the job have been either replaced or demoted. Dave Littlefield and David Chadd were both demoted last season. This could just reflect a shift in organizational philosophy to a more analytics-based approach, but still not a great look for Avila.

Draft wise, we all know he doesn’t have the greatest track record. His drafts from 2017-19 have been particularly problematic. Yes, Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal were drafted in 2018, but those have been the only impactful picks from that draft.

The jury is still out on the 2020 and 2021 drafts. Obviously, Spencer Torkelson is with the big league club already. Colt Keith, a fifth-round pick in 2020, has been tearing it up with High-A West Michigan.

It’s still very early, but the 2021 draft is off to a strong start. Ty Madden and Dylan Smith have both looked sharp early on for West Michigan. Second-round pick Izaac Pacheco has shown strong plate discipline and power potential with Low-A Lakeland. Third overall pick Jackson Jobe has gotten off to a rocky start for the Flying Tigers, but he’s still just 19 years old.

While recent drafts look better, that doesn’t help the current situation. The team still has no depth, which is what happens when you miss on three straight drafts.

I’m not going to discuss his trades because most of the ones that everyone points to happened five years ago and that just feels like beating a dead horse. Yes, the J.D. Martinez and Justin Verlander trades were bad. Let’s just leave it at that.

The best teams in baseball all have lots of depth. Look at the Los Angeles Dodgers—they still have several players on that team that platoon who would be starters on almost any other team. The Tampa Bay Rays make a living off of depth because their owner also doesn’t like to spend money.

The Detroit Tigers have no depth, and that falls on Avila’s shoulders.

The Tigers have had one winning season in Al Avila’s tenure as GM, and that was way back in 2016. We’re seven years into this thing now and we’re still not seeing results.

Fans are growing impatient, and rightfully so. If things don’t improve quickly, it may finally be time to move on.