Tigers reportedly have plans to fire Brad Ausmus, but club says it hasn’t decided
The Detroit Tigers have found a scapegoat for their struggles. Reportedly, anyway. The club has plans to fire manager Brad Ausmus at the end of the season, according to WDIV-TV in Detroit. The Detroit Free Press confirmed the report Friday.
The talk of Ausmus’ ouster has been going for a while now, with Detroit Sports Rag reporting a couple weeks ago that the Tigers had decided to fire Ausmus. Since that’s an usual site to break managerial news, the report didn’t make rounds nationally.
But here’s where things get tricky: The Tigers are denying it all. They’re saying that evaluations for everyone, Ausmus included, are ongoing and that his fate hasn’t been decided.
Essentially, this means someone is telling the media that Ausmus is gone while the team is biding time until the end of the season to make its final decision That’s sure going to make the final weeks of the season awkward.
Ditching Ausmus wouldn’t be a shocker at this point. The Tigers came into the season with huge expectations, but failed to live up to them. After re-signing Victor Martinez and trading for Yoenis Cespedes in the offseason, many believed the club would once again win the American League Central.
That didn’t work out. The Tigers traded away both David Price and Cespedes at the deadline, and currently sit in last place (64-76) in the division. Any team that struggles this much will usually undergo changes during, or after, the season, and that’s precisely what is happening in Detroit.
Things started shortly after the deadline, as general manager Dave Dombrowski was released from his contract. Al Avila was handed the job, and things were mostly set to be the same given Avila’s long tenure within the organization.
Avila, however, didn’t hire Ausmus, and reportedly wants to get his guy in the manager’s chair next year. According to the Free Press, Dombrowski fought off attempts from ownership to fire Ausmus earlier this season. After a promising first season with the team, things have really gone downhill for Ausmus in 2015. In two seasons as the team’s skipper, Ausmus has compiled a 154-148 record. He led the team to the playoffs in his inaugural year as manager after going 90-72. They were swept by the Baltimore Orioles in the first round.
That brings us to Friday’s statement from the Tigers, saying all members of the organization are being evaluated, but decisions wouldn’t be made until the end of the season.
If Ausmus does indeed get the ax after the season, ex-Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire appears to be the favorite to get the Tigers’ job. Detroit Sports Rag reported on Tuesday that Ron Gardenhire would be the next Tigers manager and Friday morning USA Today’s Bob Nightengale was saying the same thing.
A managerial change signals yet another change for the Tigers. The franchise was one of the most consistent in baseball over the past few years, winning the division four straight seasons between 2011-14.
As with most clubs that experience such heights, the lows were sure to come. As the players got older, Detroit continued to add, hoping one more move would push them over the top. Miguel Cabrera, while still one of the best players in the game, has dealt with injuries the past few seasons. The 36-year-old Martinez showed significant decline this year, and Justin Verlander hasn’t been the same guy recently. The eventual collapse was inevitable, but now it’s finally happened.
Moving forward, it’s tough to know what will happen with both sides. Ausmus will likely receive opportunities to interview for open jobs during the offseason. While he isn’t known as an expert tactician, he was viewed as a front-runner or runner-up with a couple teams the year he received the Tigers’ job. Some of those clubs may still have interest in Ausmus.
For the team, things are a bit more complicated. Avila will hand pick his manager, and both men will be tasked with turning this club around. Given the team’s mix of bad contracts and veterans, it’s unclear how soon that can happen.
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After a number of seasons on top, the Tigers have finally been forced to shake things up. Once Dombrowski was let go, the writing was on the wall for Ausmus. This is Avila’s team now, and he’ll be given every opportunity to make the changes he views as necessary.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
