Detroit Tigers: Ron Gardenhire’s Future As Manager Is Uncertain

The Detroit Tigers brought in current manager Ron Gardenhire for the 2018 season on a three-year contract keeping him under contract through the 2020 season. Gardenhire is now sixty-one years old, and he appears to want to stick around, but could that change?

When Ron Gardenhire took over as manager of the Detroit Tigers he knew he would be in for losing, and lots of it. When Brad Ausmus was relieved of his duties, things were going south, and going south quickly. Gardenhire was brought in, with hopes that his player development skills and general managerial style would be able to help assist the Tigers to rebuild that is still going on, and far from over.

During his time with the Minnesota Twins which started in 2002, he was able to win the division six times between 2002 and 2010. Pretty impressive, he also was the manager while players like Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer came through the system and had terrific careers with the Twins and some other teams (Morneau).

Between 2011 and 2014 the Twins consistently finished in last or second to last in the division. The point to be made here, Gardenhire was a successful manager when he was able to develop the talent as they came into the league. He gets the chance to do that now with the Detroit Tigers.

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Bringing in Gardenhire was a good move; he may have been more of a postseason manager, someone who was good at getting his team to the playoffs. It sure seems like developing guys like Morneau and Mauer into the true talents they are had to have been affected by him in the slightest.

With the Detroit Tigers, Gardenhire is getting the chance to do the same thing with some of the players within the system right now. The Tigers do not have a Mauer or Morneau comparable prospect in their system on offense.

With one more year to go on his contract, Gardenhire was interviewed and annoyed about the looming decision from Al Avila to dismiss Gardenhire or keep him on for one more year. Evan Woodberry of MLive claimed that Gardenhire’s answer about liking it here in Detroit or wanting to stay was “not too convincing” and Woodberry said;

"“I don’t get the sense he’s someone whose life will be empty without the game. He seems to have a lot of friends and hobbies outside baseball. His family is important to him. He’s an avid traveler.”"

With Gardenhire’s future uncertain, Avila needs to bring him back for the 2020 season. The reasoning is simple; it is one more year, the team is in a rebuild, Gardenhire cannot be blamed for the output when the focus is on development of these players for the future.

If Gardenhire and Avila can sit down and agree that players on this team are genuinely getting better, showing that they are developing into major league roles, then there’s no reason to dismiss Gardenhire.

The offseason will bring a decision from Avila. There’s some uncertainty with the idea of dismissing him being brought up, and Gardenhire’s willingness to return is a little less convincing than hopeful, time will tell though.