Tigers could lose key front office member to Red Wings as Ilitches search for new GM

Steve Yzerman’s “Yzerplan” didn’t work out the way the Red Wings had imagined it would, so he agreed to take a different role within the organization. Little did anyone know, that move could have ripple effects on other pro teams in the city. The Tigers may actually lose their general manager because of Yzerman’s demotion.

According to a report from the Detroit Free Press, the Ilitches are searching far and wide for candidates to fill that vacant role. But they may not have to look very far.

Tigers general manager Jeff Greenberg is reportedly one of the top candidates for the job, which would actually make sense given he’s worked in an NHL front office before. He was the associate general manager of the Chicago Blackhawks for a little over a year from April 2022 until September 2023, when he was hired as the general manager of the Tigers.

Unfortunately, it stops making a ton of sense when you consider who owns the Red Wings.

The Ilitches own both the Red Wings and Tigers, so taking from one to supplement the other doesn’t make a ton of sense, because they’d have to then find a new general manager for their MLB team.

Then again, a lot of Ilitch decisions already don’t make a ton of sense, so this would be par for the course.

Losing GM Jeff Greenberg to the Red Wings would be a blow to the Tigers

Before his time with the Blackhawks, Greenberg was right down the street at Wrigley Field, where he spent almost a decade in the front office before being promoted to assistant general manager in 2020. While he was in the Cubs’ front office, the organization made the playoffs five times and won their first World Series since 1908.

While the Cubs did take a step back after COVID, he still had a helping hand in one of the most successful stretches in the franchise’s history. The bottom-dwelling Blackhawks stayed at the bottom while he was in charge of the NHL franchise, so maybe that’ll deter the Red Wings.

Greenberg would be a big loss for the Tigers, seeing as he continued the franchise’s turnaround after he was hired in September 2023. He took over as general manager of a team that hadn’t made the playoffs in a decade and immediately turned it into a regular contender. Since he took over in Detroit, the Tigers have made it to the ALDS in back-to-back seasons and are contending for a division title in 2026.

Although he and president of baseball operations Scott Harris receive a ton of criticism for their moves (the trade deadline didn’t make a ton of fans happy) or a lack of bat acquisition in the offseason, he’s been instrumental in the turnaround.

Since the Ilitches own both the Tigers and the Red Wings, they can deem which franchise is more important to have Greenberg in charge of.

If they move him to the Wings’ front office, we’ll know where their priorities lie.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow