By George Eichorn
There’s a new man in town steering the Detroit Tigers.
The Tigers rightfully fired long-time GM Al Avila and, following a lengthy search, choose 36-year-old Scott Harris as the club’s President of Baseball Operations.
Chairman and CEO Christopher Ilitch recently announced the hiring in front of a packed audience in the Tiger Club at Comerica Park that included Harris, his fiance Elle and his parents. Harris was vetted by Ilitch, Tigers Manager A.J. Hinch and Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman, among others. It was a prudent decision by Ilitch to seek input from Hinch and Yzerman.
Harris has plenty of major league experience having worked for MLB, Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants – the past three seasons – with favorable results. The Cubs won a World Series while he was there and the Giants posted a 205-163 (.557) record with Harris as its GM. The Giants were National League West Division champs in 2021.
The Tigers have been an embarrassment on the field in 2022. High expectations for the club to contend were dashed early as key injuries, an anemic offense and some shoddy defense combined to make this a season to forget in Detroit. The club presently resides in last place in the American League Central Division.
Yet some bright spots emerged also. Rookies Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson, Kerry Carpenter and Ryan Kreidler have had a taste of big league pitching and fielding. Greene has been nothing short of sensational in center field with numerous all-out catches off the bats of opposing hitters. He’s been a human highlights reel in my opinion.
Clearly the last off-season Avila moves to bring veteran talent and leadership to the club have shown little results.
Shortstop Javier Baez only waited until the second half of the season to hit consistently yet his defense has been suspect as he leads MLB in errors made. Catcher Tucker Barnhart has struggled offensively. Starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez had personal issues which delayed the start of his Tigers career. Outfielder Austin Meadows battled injury and mental wellness issues. Andrew Chafin was a decent set-up man in the bullpen. Starter Michael Pineda was only 2-7 with a horrible 5.79 ERA in 11 games, before the club dropped him from the roster.
Now comes the observation time. Harris can get a look at the current roster and talk with Hinch and his coaching staff. Harris needs to hire a general manager and review the club’s 40-man roster, farm teams, available free agents here and on other teams, and any trade potential. It’s a tall order but the Tigers believe Harris is the person to achieve future success.
Long suffering Tigers fans have waited 38 seasons for World Championship and Lord knows how many more years it may take to reach the Fall Classic. Here’s hoping Harris looks over the entire organization chart including player development, analytics, coaching, training, scouting and players, in order to make the changes needed to bring fans back and an exciting product to the diamond here.
Reach George Eichorn at geichorn@yahoo.com or @Sandgsports99 on Twitter.
