Detroit Tigers: 5 terrible decisions from the 2022 season

DETROIT, MI - SEPTEMBER 17: Manager A.J. Hinch #14 of the Detroit Tigers reacts in the second inning against the Chicago White Sox at Comerica Park on September 17, 2022 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI - SEPTEMBER 17: Manager A.J. Hinch #14 of the Detroit Tigers reacts in the second inning against the Chicago White Sox at Comerica Park on September 17, 2022 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
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Not firing Al Avila sooner

Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers owner Christopher Ilitch speaks at a press conference at Comerica Park in Detroit after the firing of general manager Al Avila Wednesday, August 10, 2022.

The Detroit Tigers have a new president of baseball operations in Scott Harris, who seems very qualified and forward-thinking. But before that, they had the worst GM in the league for the last seven years.

Al Avila should not have been able to sniff the 2022 MLB Draft or the trade deadline. If Chris Ilitch was going to fire him, I don’t know why he was allowed to conduct either of those trains.

Now, one might say that leaving either of those things to an interim GM (likely Sam Menzin) wouldn’t be a very wise decision either, and that would be correct. But Avila had a proven track record of being a terrible talent evaluator and awful at trades. An interim GM couldn’t have done any worse.

At no point this season did the Tigers look like they were figuring things out. In fact, things only got worse. Seven years worth of bad trades, drafts, and free agent signings finally caught up to Avila.

The Detroit Tigers made a lot of bad decisions this year—and I mean a lot. But keeping Al Avila around for as long as they did has to be the worst of them all.

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