Detroit Tigers: Examining General Manager Al Avila’s failures
By Jeff Olson
Al Avila’s trades as the Detroit Tigers general manager have been questionable.
When you have a team that went to the playoffs recently, then you’ve obviously got talent to work with. It makes perfect sense for a team looking to rebuild to trade some of that older talent for players who can help you win down the road.
In theory, this is what Avila did about five years ago. In actuality, the Tigers have seen minimal returns from trading away their best players.
For example, Justin Verlander, who currently has a 1.22 ERA through 51.2 innings this year, was traded to the Astros to help them win a World Series. Detroit received Daz Cameron, Jake Rogers, and Franklin Perez in return. None of these three players are major league regulars.
J.D. Martinez currently leads the league in doubles and batting average. Avila traded him in 2017 for Dawel Lugo, Jose King and Sergio Alcantara. Now I can’t tell you what any of those guys are doing these days, but it’s definitely not playing for the Tigers.
The list of failed trades goes on and on. It’s a shame that with all this incredible talent Avila traded away, Detroit couldn’t get more back in return.