Report: Tigers will fire Ausmus at end of season
As reported last week by CBS Sports Baseball Insider Jon Heyman, Brad Ausmus’ job as Tigers manager is in serious jeopardy. According to a report from the Detroit Free Press on Friday, the Tigers are expected to fire Ausmus at the end of the season.
According to Heyman, Ausmus’ chances to survive took a hit when longtime Tigers GM Dave Dave Dombrowski, who hired him in 2014 despite not having any MLB managerial experience, was released from his contract. Dombrowski has since hooked on with the Red Sox.
Here’s more from Heyman last week:
Al Avila, the new GM, also supported Dombrowski’s call to tab Ausmus, but the voices against have grown stronger as the Tigers have slid. Upon taking the GM job, Avila said only that Ausmus would be kept through the season, telling folks he would be spending the remainder of the year “evaluating.”
One thing that does not bode well for Ausmus is the lack of fan support from patrons accustomed to watching excellent Tigers teams who have endured an abject disappointment. Few outside of Detroit will view this season as the fault of Ausmus, a well-respected figure throughout the game. It is worth mentioning that Ausmus has been saddled with bullpen issues two years running.
As one rival GM put it regarding Ausmus’ future should he be let go, “He’d have to wait about eight minutes for another job.”
Ausmus, 46, holds a 154-148 record in his two seasons as Detroit’s manager. The Tigers are in last place in the AL Central at 64-76 following Thursday’s 7-5 loss to Cleveland. They won the division in 2014 but were swept out of the ALDS by the Orioles. Detroit was again expected to contend coming into 2015.
The timing of the decision is curious and, frankly, disrespectful if the report is accurate. If the Tigers have indeed decided to fire Ausmus after the season, they should just do it now rather than string him along. It’s unfair to ask Ausmus to continue managing if the decision to fire him has been made.
Ausmus played in parts of 18 big-league seasons as a defense-first catcher, including three with the Tigers. He joined the Padres as special assistant to the baseball operations staff after retiring in 2010 and remained there until the Tigers hired him before the 2014 season.
The Tigers join the Marlins and Padres as clubs who will hire a new manager this offseason. Marlins skipper Dan Jennings is expected to move back into a front office role after leaving his GM post to take over as manager earlier this season.
Given his time working in San Diego, Ausmus could be a candidate for the Padres’ managerial job. Pat Murphy is currently leading the team on an interim basis. Then again, Ausmus worked in the front office before current GM A.J. Preller took over.
With Dombrowski gone and Ausmus set to be fired, the Tigers are going through some big changes right now, but their goal is to again be competitive in 2016. They have a few big win-now contracts on the books. A complete rebuild seems very unlikely.
Brad Ausmus will reportedly be fired after the season. (USATSI)
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