Detroit Tigers: 5 dream candidates to be the team’s next GM

The Detroit Tigers are looking for their next leader

The Detroit Tigers fired general manager Al Avila on Aug. 10. Chairman Chris Ilitch said he made the move then—as opposed to after the season— to get a head start on the search for the team’s next GM. He also said the search will be “far and wide.”

One would imagine that a slew of candidates will be considered for the position. There is no shortage of good candidates either. It just comes down to what Chris Ilitch’s vision is for the team—which is scary to think about, but hopefully A.J. Hinch and whoever else is helping guide the search can steer him in the right direction.

Of course, some candidates are more realistic than others. There are a few candidates that have a virtually 0% chance of coming to Detroit. Others are slightly more likely, but still probably wouldn’t come to Detroit.

Still, it’s fun to dream, and there are only 30 of these jobs, so you truly never know. Here are five dream candidates to become the next GM of the Detroit Tigers.

Erik Neander, president of baseball operations—Tampa Bay Rays

Neander, 39, was named the Rays’ president of baseball ops last September after 15 years in the organization, holding various roles in Tampa’s front office. He’s been the team’s top-ranking baseball official since 2017.

The Rays’ record since Neander took over as top dog speaks for itself. They’ve won the AL East in back-to-back seasons in 2020 and 2021, including a franchise record 100 wins a year ago. They also made the World Series in the shortened 2020 season.

This is has all been done with virtually no financial support from Rays’ owner Stuart Sternberg. which makes it all the more impressive how Neander has been able keep the team competitive. This begs the question—how good could the Rays be if they had even a league-average payroll?

That’s where the Detroit Tigers come in. Their 2022 payroll of $132 million is about league average. If they were able to snag a baseball mind like Neander—and actually give him some money to work with—they might finally become a competent organization.

Doing this would basically be copying what the Dodgers did back in 2014, when they poached Andrew Friedman from the Rays and became the team we know them as today: a ridiculously savvy organization that always has a stacked farm system, and also has one of the league’s highest payrolls every year.

The likelihood of Ilitch increasing the Tigers’ payroll to $200+ million seems quite low, but $180 million should suffice. If there’s one team to emulate, it’s the Dodgers.

The question becomes whether Neander would actually leave Tampa. Going from Sternberg to Ilitch isn’t much of an upgrade in terms of ownership, although Ilitch did finally open up the pocketbook last offseason. Having money to spend does have to be attractive if you’re Neander, as it would definitely make his job easier. But who knows, maybe he likes it in Tampa.

The Tigers would almost certainly have to pay up to pry Neander away from the Rays. Whether Ilitch would be willing to do such a thing remains to be seen.

Will Rhymes, director of player development—Los Angeles Dodgers

Why not stick with the most well-run organization in baseball? The Tigers could poach pretty much anyone in their front office and the hire would be deemed a success.

If the name sounds familiar, it’s probably because it is. Rhymes, 39, played for the Tigers from 2010-11. He was drafted by Detroit in the 27th round in 2005. He was the team’s starting second baseman in 2011. In two years with the Tigers, he slashed .283/.341/.370 with a .711 OPS.

He played 47 games for Tampa (again?) in 2012, putting up a .584 OPS. He played in the minors for the Washington Nationals in 2013 before calling it a career in 2014. Rhymes previously served as an assistant farm director for Los Angeles before being promoted to director of player development in 2019.

The fact that Rhymes played for the Tigers is already intriguing. The Tigers already have several members of their coaching staff, including Hinch, bench coach George Lombard, and third base coach Ramon Santiago, among others, that spent time in Detroit as players. Adding a GM that played for the Tigers would be pretty cool, and that fact the he also comes from the Dodgers is an added bonus.

The Dodgers have a loaded farm system pretty much every year. Even better, they have developed a track record of having players develop further after reaching the big leagues. A perfect example of this is Max Muncy. He was a nobody with the Oakland Athletics, then he comes to LA and hits 35 homers with a .973 OPS in 2018, which is before Rhymes was promoted to his current position, but it just goes to show how good the Dodgers are at developing players. He is also known for having one of the best eyes in the league, boasting a career walk rate of 15.1%.

There are countless other examples. The Dodgers are a juggernaut for a variety of reasons, and Rhymes deserves some credit.

The main concern with Rhymes would be his lack of GM experience, mainly with things like trade negotiations. What the Tigers could do is hire an advisor or two to help him out with that, or they could have Jay Sartori take on a similar role. But to have the opportunity to hire someone from the Dodgers who also happens to be a former Tiger is something that Ilitch and company should jump at.

Matt Arnold, general manager—Milwaukee Brewers

Arnold, 43, has bounced around several organizations, including the Cincinnati Reds, Texas Rangers, and you guessed it, the Tampa Bay Rays. He also worked closely with Andrew Friedman during his time in Tampa.

He has been the right-hand man to Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns for the past seven years. It sounds like he is being groomed to one day take over for Stearns. But is he that patient? Is it possible that he may want to run his own show sooner?

Stearns and Arnold have made for quite the team in Milwaukee. They’ve won the NL Central twice in the last four years (2018, 2021) and have become a pitching factory, Guys like Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta, Eric Lauer, Devin Williams, Josh Hader, and others have become household names for the Brew Crew.

However, much like the Tigers, they have struggled to develop hitters, though that could be changing soon, as they have a trio of outfielders in Triple-A right now that could all reach the big leagues next season in Sal Frelick, Joey Wiemer, and Garrett Mitchell. They also have one of the best teenage prospects in baseball in Jackson Chourio down in High-A.

For the Tigers, anyone that is from the Friedman tree should be considered a good candidate. Anybody that has been able pick his brain and apply what they learned from him in making the Tigers a competitive team should be somebody Tigers fan should want.

This wouldn’t be the first time that Tigers have poached from the Brewers’ organization. Current director of player development Kenny Graham came from Milwaukee. Perhaps they could use that connection to lure Arnold away from the Brew Crew.

The one major roadblock to that happening might be the Brewers’ organization itself. The New York Mets tried to pry Arnold away from Milwaukee to be their GM last season, but their request was denied. The Mets also tried to take Stearns, but that was blocked as it would have been a lateral move. Would the Brewers relinquish their grip on Arnold for the Tigers?

It’s hard to see that happening. It really sounds like the Brewers like him, as they gave him a contract extension last offseason as well. It would be nice to have a mind like Arnold’s to lead the Detroit Tigers’ front office, but Tigers fans may have to look elsewhere.

Theo Epstein, consultant—Major League Baseball

It wouldn’t be a list of dream candidates for any team’s GM if it didn’t include Theo Epstein. After all, his resume speaks for itself. He ended two World Series droughts with the Red Sox and Cubs, and set both teams up for sustained success.

He now works as a consultant for Major League Baseball. Rumor has it the league is grooming him to become the next commissioner.

Epstein, 48, is the first name that comes to many Tigers fans’ minds when they think about who they want to be the team’s next GM, and it’s hard to blame them. Again, the resume speaks for itself. It’s clear he has an eye for talent.

However, the likelihood of him coming to Detroit is 0%—unless we want to start using negative numbers.. There are many factors working against this happening.

First of all, Epstein would want an ownership group that is committed to winning, and well, Chris Ilitch hasn’t exactly shown that desire. The Tigers would have to pay gobs of money to get him to become the team’s GM, and the odds of Ilitch doing that seem pretty slim to none.

Epstein is obviously pretty smart as well, and has always wanted to set up his teams for long term success. To do that for the Detroit Tigers, that may very well mean a rebuild of the rebuild. Would Tigers fans be willing to stomach another 3-5 years of losing?

Lastly, the job just simply isn’t that attractive to someone like Epstein, who has a proven track record. They have a good manager in place, and a few good, young, controllable players, but that’s about it. Ownership doesn’t care, and the front office needs an overhaul. That’s a lot of work for a guy who could just work his way up to the commissioner’s office instead.

I hate to be a Debbie Downer. Sorry, Tigers fans, but Theo Epstein is not coming to Detroit.