The Detroit Tigers shook up their front office Tuesday, announcing Al Avila as the club's new general manager and executive vice president of baseball operations.
Jason Beck of MLB.com reported the news of Avila's promotion to supplant Dave Dombrowski, who was released from his contract. Beck also passed along a quote from Tigers owner Michael Ilitch.
"I've decided to release Dave from his contract in order to afford him the time to pursue other career opportunities," Ilitch said.
ESPN.com's Jayson Stark alluded to Dombrowski's strong record overseeing Detroit's personnel decisions:
Chris Iott of Mlive.com reported Avila's contract is for five years beyond this season. He also provided comments from Avila:
I do have a contrac.I signed the contract today, but I don't want to really expound on the contract at this point. It's a number of years that is long enough that will give you the security that you need to continue to build on a winning tradition.
Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports and Stark both linked Dombrowski to a potential future job with the Toronto Blue Jays. Avila had been the Tigers' assistant general manager and a vice president before Tuesday.
Detroit has enjoyed immense success in recent years, but this season has been a massive disappointment. The team is 51-54 and dealt All-Star pitcher David Price to Toronto just ahead of Friday's trade deadline.
Avila had a hand in constructing the current Detroit roster and someone to learn from in Dombrowski. That's a better situation than many other first-time GMs are thrown into.
This season may be a wash for Detroit, but the club is in position to pursue big-name targets in the winter and get closer to contention in 2016. It's up to Avila to execute and land marquee talent to get the Tigers back to their perch atop the American League Central.
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