DETROIT — The Tigers “parted ways” with vice president and general manager Al Avila on Wednesday.
In a statement released by the team a little after 4 p.m., chairman and CEO Christopher Ilitch said, “Once I decided to make a change, I sat down with Al and thanked him for his nearly 22 years of service to our organization. Al’s loyalty and dedication has served as an example to all during his time as a leader in our baseball operations department.
“I will oversee the search process for our next baseball operations leader, in collaboration with several members of our baseball and business operations executive teams.”
Ilitch is expected to address the media later Wednesday.
“I want to re-establish our momentum and progress towards building a winning team and I am driven to find a talented executive to help us do that,” Ilitch said.
“They’ll be entering an organization with many foundational elements in place and an exciting path forward. Tigers fans deserve winning teams, and I’m highly focused and committed to deliver that to the people of Detroit and Michigan.
“With new baseball operations leadership will come a fresh perspective toward evolving our roster and maximizing our talent to reach our objectives. To be clear, our goals are to build a team that wins on a sustainable basis, qualifies for the playoffs, and ultimately wins the world series.”
Vice president and assistant general manager Sam Menzin will take over the GM duties on an interim basis.
Avila served as Dave Dombrowski’s assistant GM from 2002 until he was named GM on Aug. 4, 2015.
“For nearly 22 years, I have given my heart and soul to this franchise, and I want to thank Mr. and Mrs. Ilitch, along with Chris, for the opportunity and treating me and my family as their own," Avila said.
"We’ve celebrated successes and enjoyed great moments, and I’m proud to have worked with so many talented people in baseball operations and throughout the organization. I’ll cherish our friendships and the successes we all celebrated together.
“To Tigers fans, you’re the best and you deserve a winner. I wish the results would have been better this season but know there is a lot to look forward to in the coming years. God Bless everyone.”
