Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila spoke yesterday at the Detroit Sports Media banquet, and his message was loud and clear.
Avila believes that the rebuild that’s underway in Detroit will lead to success quickly. He told the crowd that the Tigers front office will deliver a championship sooner rather than later.
“I guarantee you, at the end of the day, when it’s all said and done, this group right here, we’re going to be successful and take the Tigers to a championship in the near future.”
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Avila went on to say that he’s been offended by the criticism of the moves the Tigers have made to start over.
“It insulted the crap out of me,” Avila said of the criticism. “There’s certain people that thought we didn’t think things through. There’s some brainiacs at this table right here that looked at everything thoroughly.”
When he wasn’t defending his job and making guarantees, Avila did provide some updates on two Tiger stars who are returning from injury.
Both Michael Fulmer and Victor Martinez are expected to be healthy and at full strength for the start of the 2018 season. Fulmer had elbow surgery in September and was the topic of a lot of trade rumors during the winter meetings. He’s hoping to return to the form that won him the American League Rookie of the Year in 2016.
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According to the Associated Press, Avila said Fulmer has been throwing and is on track to be 100% at the start of Spring Training:
”He’s thrown out to 180 feet with no restrictions and no setbacks, so right now he’s on track to be 100 percent coming into spring training,” Avila said.
Martinez has been recovering from surgery to correct an irregular heartbeat towards the end of last season. He’s also trying to bounce back from the second worst season of his career. The 39-year-old DH is entering the last season of a four-year contract, and let’s hope he can stay healthy in 2018.
Avila took over as Detroit’s General Manager during the 2015 season, and really began the rebuild of the franchise last year in the second half of the season. We’ll see if his optimism about a quick turnaround plays out. It’s hard to imagine that the Tigers will contend in 2018, but you never know. That’s why they play the games!
Sooner than later? I don’t think so with only 3 of the top 100 prospects in baseball! Avila is dreaming if he thinks this team will contend in the next few years! The Tigers need to sign some free agents in the near future if they want to contend with the Yankees, Indians, Red Sox, Angels and Astros!
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