Report: There is no opt-out in Detroit Tigers’ manager A.J. Hinch’s contract

Detroit Tigers fans can breathe a sigh of relief

According to an article from The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, the long-rumored opt-out in Detroit Tigers’ manager A.J. Hinch’s contract does not exist. This comes as many fans have been worried that he would exercise that opt-out after this season due to the team’s poor performance.

Here’s what Rosenthal reported about Hinch’s contract:

"“Avila said Hinch’s contract includes no such clause. Hinch, in his second year with the club, has never said anything to indicate he plans to abandon his long-term commitment to the organization. His contract, according to sources, runs for five years, from 2021 to 2025.”"

The contract was just one of many great pieces of reporting done by Rosenthal in the article that dives deep into the Detroit Tigers’ failings as an organization. We highly recommend you give it a read for yourselves.

The opt-out was first reported in April 2021, leading many Tigers fans to worry that Hinch might leave following this season if things didn’t work out. The worrying was only exacerbated by the team’s awful start to the 2022 season.

But now that the opt-out has been confirmed to be just a rumor, Detroit Tigers fans can breathe a bit easier. A.J. Hinch won’t be running for greener pastures following this season.

This isn’t the only reason Tigers fans have to be thankful today. Yesterday it was reported that pitching coach Chris Fetter had removed himself from consideration for the baseball coach at the University of Michigan. Michigan, of course, is Fetter’s alma mater.

Fetter was one of the first names linked to the job after former head coach Erik Bakich left for the same job at Clemson. A.J. Hinch said last week that there hadn’t been any contact that he was aware of, but it was a huge priority to keep Fetter in Detroit.

That’s two important pieces of the Detroit Tigers’ coaching staff that should be sticking around for the foreseeable future. A disaster of a season avoids becoming catastrophic.