The Detroit Tigers have hired a new president of baseball operations — former Giants GM Scott Harris is headed to the Motor City.
Harris has long been considered a future star in the industry, and he left a comfortable situation as the general manager in San Francisco to take a step up in Detroit.
The Tigers have plenty to offer — the chance to rebuild a team in his image. However, Detroit doesn’t have to be a total teardown. With the likes of Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal, Matt Manning, Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson in tow, the Tigers already have plenty of young, MLB-ready talent.
Detroit took an obvious step back in 2022, but hiring a new president of baseball operations now gives Harris a few weeks to evaluate before he has to clean up Avila’s mess.
Per Passan, Harris is seen as “a future front-office star.”
Scott Harris has immediate questions to answer with Detroit Tigers
With the Tigers, Harris must first find a general manager to work under him with the same vision. Next, he needs to figure out if he’s on board with A.J. Hinch as the long-term manager in MoTown.
Beyond that, the future in Detroit starts now. The Tigers spent big in free agency last year, bringing in the likes of Javier Baez, who isn’t going anywhere despite a disappointing season. Much of that young talent is either on the injured list or struggling at the major-league level.
An organization upheaval is necessary, but it might not come from the player perspective. Player development has been a huge problem in Detroit for years now. Changes at the minor-league and scouting levels are likely to make sure the organization is aligned with Harris from the top-down.
Chris Ilitch is not a baseball mind. He inherited the team from his father. In that ilk, he needs a subordinate he can trust. For Tigers fans, hopefully he has that in Harris.