The Detroit Tigers today announced that Dave Dombrowski has been replaced as General Manager by Assistant GM Al Avila.
Avila takes over as executive vice president of baseball operations and will assume all responsibilities related to baseball operations of the club. He will report directly to Tigers Owner Mike Ilitch.
“I would like to thank Dave Dombrowski for his 14 years of service,” said Ilitch. “Together we’ve enjoyed some success, but we’re still in aggressive pursuit of our ultimate goal: to bring a World Series title to Detroit and Michigan.”
“I’ve decided to release Dave from his contract in order to afford him the time to pursue other career opportunities. I feel this is the right time for the Tigers to move forward under new leadership.”
One of his final acts as GM was trading Yoenis Cespedes to the Mets for top pitching prospect Michael Fulmer and RHP Luis Cessa.
The trade was viewed very favorably by Detroit fans and media. However many were angry that he chose to sell with the team only three games out of a Wild Card. At the time the Mets were four games back.
