Detroit Tigers: Could A.J. Hinch be more intrigued by Chicago White Sox?

As the Detroit Tigers continue their managerial hunt, could they lose out on A.J. Hinch, who might prefer the now-competitive Chicago White Sox?

The Detroit Tigers are going to be taking their time with the managerial search. General Manager Al Avila made that very clear; the organization will interview different candidates and take their time.

While the Los Angeles Dodgers first base coach George Lombard has been labeled as a target for the organization’s managerial vacancy, there is a list of possible candidates. As the Tigers have previously stated, they will be considering A.J. Hinch and Alex Cora.

These two have had their respective issues in Major League Baseball, given the sign-stealing scandal with the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox. However, the water is under the bridge, and Hinch is eligible to return to the bench as a manager in 2021 after serving his one-year ban.

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The Tigers may seem like a revival path for Hinch, who could be just looking for a way back into Major League Baseball.

However, the Chicago White Sox may have just changed the game and presented a new opportunity. The White Sox parted ways with manager Rick Renteria.

They have finally ushered in an era of competition and look to be closing the door on the rebuild and heading into “compete” territory.

The American League (AL) Central rival White Sox is seemingly a much more attractive destination.

While this is contingent that the White Sox are bringing in Hinch for an interview, but if he is given a choice, it seems like Hinch would likely want the chance to get back into baseball with a competitive ball club.

On the other hand, the Tigers are more of a project as the rebuild is well underway. While the future looks bright and looks like the prospects have started poking through into the daylight, Hinch would likely be enduring at least two seasons of struggles.

Given all of Hinch’s success at the end of his tenure with the Astros, whether the cheating attributed to it or not, there’s no reason why Hinch should not want to get back to a winning franchise.

Sadly, most, if not everyone, would agree that the Tigers organization is far from being a competitor and even sniffing the playoffs. As the fall progresses into winter and the Tigers move closer to a candidate, expect Hinch to end up being the frontrunner in a different AL Central team’s managerial search.

Whether that is for the better or for, the worse, the Tigers will likely be choosing someone other than Hinch to fill the role. There are plenty of candidates that have heard their name in rumblings; the hope is that the Detroit Tigers front office can make the best decision for this rebuild.