Horrifying workplace allegations emerge regarding assistant Tigers GM's resignation

Detroit Tigers assistant general manager Sam Menzin resigned his position on Thursday, as first reported by Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic. Menzin had held the assistant GM role since August of 2021, and he even briefly served as the Tigers' interim front office boss in the weeks between the firing of former general manager Al Avila and the hiring of current president of baseball operations Scott Harris.

It was not immediately clear why a front office executive who had been with the club for more than a decade would abruptly resign without explanation, just one week into a new season, but a new report from Stavenhagen and Brittany Ghiroli in The Athletic (subscription required) shed some new light on the situation.

According to Stavenhagen and Ghiroli's report, the Tigers had actually intended to fire Menzin for "improper workplace conduct" after completing their investigation into multiple allegations that Menzin, 34, had sent unsolicited lewd photographs to various women in the baseball industry – inside and outside of the Tigers organization – over the past several years.

According to the report, Menzin was accused of using Snapchat to send photographs to three women on "several occasions." Two of those women worked for the Tigers organization, where he was employed for the last 13 years.

Horrifying workplace allegations emerge regarding Tigers assistant GM Sam Menzin's resignation

In a response to questions about Menzin’s alleged behavior, the Tigers said in a statement to The Athletic that such behavior is "contrary to our standards and has absolutely no place within our organization" and that the team would continue to "emphasize respect, inclusion, and professionalism" among all employees.

Despite his relatively young age, Menzin was one of the Tigers’ longest-tenured front office employees. He started as an intern back in 2012 and worked his way up the ladder in a variety of roles before landing the assistant GM position in 2021.

When asked why Menzin's alleged lewd behavior had not come to light earlier if it had been going on for several years, one of the women who reported the alleged behavior told Stavenhagen and Ghiroli: “It’s like no one says anything because who is going to believe them when they say Sam Menzin did this? It’s not like a bat boy or security guard. It’s Sam Menzin."

In addition to the power imbalance at play, the woman also noted that there were very few women working in the Tigers' front office and that "it always felt like saying something wasn’t an option, because who is going to believe you and do anything about it? It’s just this overall sense that (reporting something) wasn’t an option.”

It's unclear at this time if Major League Baseball will conduct its own investigation into Menzin's behavior, or if the league office will levy additional punishments against him.

More Tigers content from Motor City Bengals