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.

Brandon Gomes, general manager—Los Angeles Dodgers

If the Detroit Tigers can’t copy the Dodgers by stealing the Rays’ top dog, they why not poach Friedman’s right-hand man?

Gomes, 37, has been a fast-riser in the executive world. He pitched in the big leagues from 2011-15—ironically all with the Rays—before joining the Dodgers as a pitching coordinator before the 2017 season. He worked his way up from there, earning his current title of executive VP and GM on Jan. 18 of this year.

Gomes has worked alongside Friedman for the past few years, so he has to have learned a lot. It’s worth wondering whether he wants to run his own show, rather than work in the shadow of one of the brightest minds in baseball—and I know just the team for him to take over.

With his Dodger connections, he could bring in some people from their front office to help further modernize the Tigers organization. He could also bring some people from the Rays’ front office due to his connections from his playing days.

A combination of Gomes and A.J. Hinch seems like a good GM/manager pairing. It’s clear the Detroit Tigers need someone to come in and breathe some fresh air into their front office, and Gomes seems like a good fit for that role.

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.