Report: Detroit Tigers fire amateur scouting director Scott Pleis

Left to right: Area scout RJ Burgess, director of amateur scouting Scott Pleis, Tigers first-round draft pick Alex Faedo and area scout James Orr take questions from reporters July 5, 2017 at Comerica Park.James Orr Tigers
Left to right: Area scout RJ Burgess, director of amateur scouting Scott Pleis, Tigers first-round draft pick Alex Faedo and area scout James Orr take questions from reporters July 5, 2017 at Comerica Park.James Orr Tigers

The Detroit Tigers are cleaning house

According to a report from Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press, the Detroit Tigers are parting ways with amateur scouting director Scott Pleis in the latest of what is likely to be a wave of moves in the front office.

Scott Harris is already shaking things up, which is to be expected. Anybody with any long time connection to Al Avila is probably on their way out. Sam Menzin and Jay Sartori are among the few that are probably safe, along with VP of Player Development Ryan Garko and director of pitching Gabe Ribas.

According to Petzold’s report, Pleis was hired by the Detroit Tigers as a national crosschecker back in 2007 before being promoted to director of amateur scouting in 2010. Previously, he had been a scout for the Yankees and Cubs.

As mentioned previously, this is likely far from the last of front office moves we see from the Tigers in the coming days and weeks. This is just a prediction, but I would say farm director Dan Lunetta, assisant GM David Chadd, and everybody in the latin american and international player development department are probably getting ousted.

Interestingly enough, Petzold reports that Chadd could actually stick around. He says that Chadd “provides a different perspective that Harris could find useful.” Yeah, I have to disagree with Evan here. David Chadd has been here far too long and deserves almost as much blame for everything going wrong over the past seven years as Al Avila. He was Avila’s right hand man, after all.

Yesterday, the Detroit Tigers shook up their coaching staff. Today, the front office shakeup begins. After the World Series, the roster shakeup will commence. It’s going to be an offseason of change for this organization—some much-needed change, at that.

Schedule