Friday afternoon, the Detroit Tigers announced they would not extend manager Brad Ausmus’ contract. Ausmus has been the manager for the Tigers for four seasons and has only gotten the Tigers to the playoffs once; when they were swept by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2014 ALDS.
The Detroit Tigers Will Part Ways with Brad Ausmus
The #Tigers announced today that the contract of manager Brad Ausmus will not be extended beyond the 2017 season ➡️ https://t.co/SCIBxK07pN pic.twitter.com/n5xTlznNCi
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) September 22, 2017
The Tigers gave an extension to Ausmus for the current season, but that still left the 48-year-old manager with an uncertain future in Detroit. With Ausmus leaving the club at the end of the year, the Tigers face their own uncertainty finding a new manager for the 2018 campaign.
General Manager Al Avila is looking for a new approach and fresh start for the managerial role. Since the Tigers were first to announce their managerial change, Detroit will have a head start looking for Ausmus’ replacement; though it is still uncertain which candidates will become the new Tigers manager.
Ausmus broke into the the majors as a catcher for the San Diego Padres in 1993 and played three different campaigns with the Tigers in 1996, 1999, and 2000. He later became the manager of the Tigers in 2014 when the club was pushing hard to contend. The Tigers won 90 games the first year Ausmus took the helm, but were swept out of the playoffs and have yet to make another appearance.
Detroit’s former GM Dave Dombrowski was let go during a disappointing 2015 campaign, handing the job over to Avila. Last year the Tigers reached 86 wins, but Detroit was not too optimistic heading into this season. Detroit is closing out an underwhelming season in 2017, holding a 62-91 record in the final month of the season.
The Tigers have seen changes up and down their organization, which includes player turnover. Most recently J.D. Martinez and long-time Tigers right hander Justin Verlander left Detroit via trade over the summer.
Also owner Mike Ilitch passed away in February; leaving the team to his son Chris. Chris says the Ilitch family plans to own the Tigers ball club for a long time to come.
