Major League Baseball (MLB) team Detroit Tigers have fired their general manager, Al Avila, on Wednesday, bringing the Cuban executive’s seven-year tenure with the team to an end. The Tigers are currently at the bottom of the AL Central, with a win-loss rate of 43-68.

While explaining his decision behind firing Avila, the Tigers’ owner, Chris Ilitch, said in the wake of their match against Cleveland, “I want to reestablish our momentum and progress towards building a winning team and I am driven to find a talented executive to help us do that”. 

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Ilitch was also thankful to the veteran for his extensive tenure with the Tigers. He said to reporters, “Once I decided to make a change, I sat down with Al and thanked him for his nearly 22 years of service to our organization”. Notably, Avila was serving as the team’s assistant general manager since April 15, 2002, before taking up the top position. Ilitch also pointed out that Avila will also be a figure of inspiration to everyone associated with the Tigers, “Al’s loyalty and dedication has served as an example to all during his time as a leader in our baseball operations department”.

The Tigers’ performance during Avila’s tenure was not impressive. His best season came in the year 2016 when the team managed to come second in the AL Central by a win-loss rate of 86-75. However, they missed out on the postseason on the regular season’s last day.

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Avila released a statement of his own post the announcement, where he stated his pride at being able to serve the Tigers for “nearly 22 years”. He added, “I’ll cherish our friendships and the successes we all celebrated together. To Tigers fans, you’re the best and you deserve a winner. I wish the results would have been better this season but know there is a lot to look forward to in the coming years”.

With Avila now gone, Sam Menzin, the team’s assistant general manager of baseball operations, will take on its daily operations.