After the Detroit Tigers parted ways with Al Avila in August, they started looking for a new front office leader.
That search is now over, as they officially hired Scott Harris, who was the San Francisco Giants’ general manager, to be their president of baseball operations.
Harris is viewed as one of MLB’s up-and-coming executives; and at 36, he has his whole career ahead of him.
The franchise he is taking over, however, is not in really good shape.
The Tigers are 56-91 in a season in which they splashed the cash on Eduardo Rodriguez, Javier Baez, Andrew Chafin, and other high-profile players.
The idea, before the season, was having all the newcomers contribute in leading roles and rookies such as Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson becoming factors, too.
Greene broke his foot just before the season and Torkelson has struggled to establish himself, so those plans were quickly ruled out.
The Tigers Season Got Off The Rails In A Hurry
Young starter Casey Mize got injured too, and it quickly became clear that the season that Avila and the Illitch family pictured in their heads wasn’t going to happen.
Because of that, Harris will still have to manage the finishing phase of a rebuilding period.
He will get some help eventually.
“Scott Harris: ‘I intend to hire a GM. I don’t have a timeline for that decision right now,'” MLB.com’s Jason Beck tweeted, quoting the new Tigers executive.
Scott Harris: "I intend to hire a GM. I don't have a timeline for that decision right now."
— Jason Beck (@beckjason) September 20, 2022
The team still has to pay $32 million to the aging Miguel Cabrera next year, for example, with two $30 million vesting options after that.
The new GM will have to optimize the franchise’s player development staff, and Detroit will need better luck in the health department to compete, particularly with their young pitchers.
In short, Harris has work to do, but there is hope for contention in the not-so-distant future.
NEXT: Tigers Fans Are Given An Unfortunate Reminder
