The Detroit Tigers stumbled their way through a ghastly 114 loss season in 2018, forcing fans to remember the horrors of 2003 where they nearly set the AL record for losing.
And according to the folks upstairs, 2020 isn’t going to be much better. As if we didn’t already know that with the way they’re running things.
http://gty.im/1124999119
“If everything comes together, you would hope that we would have a better season,” said Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila during a break in the league’s annual GM meetings on Wednesday. “But (2020) is going to be challenging.”
Really? Tell me more!
Despite his reputation from other MLB executives of being difficult to work with and generally being bad at his job, Tigers owner Chris Ilitch expressed full confidence in his maligned GM.
Don’t anticipate any big moves, either. Avila is reluctant to part with even the most on-the-fence prospects – saying it’s all about the big picture.
“We’ve had some trade talks and a lot of teams will try to trade you an older guy or maybe even a guy that they’re going to non-tender,” Avila said. “And he might be able to help you this year. But if you’re looking at the big-picture, it’s not going to be a good trade: You’re going to trade a prospect for a guy that’s going to help you maybe win a few more games (in 2020)? You’ve got to keep the big picture in mind.”
Of course, Avila is also the same GM who reportedly turned down deals that would have landed top young players Javier Baez and Alex Bregman in Detroit. Oops.
