Al Avila ousted as Tigers general manager

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Mired in a six-year rebuild showing few signs of progress, the Tigers dismissed general manager Al Avila on Wednesday afternoon.

The club is headed for its third last-place finish in the past four years after spending heavily in the offseason and entering the spring with expectations of being competitive.

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The move ends Avila's seven-year tenure as general manager after taking over for Dave Dombrowski in August of 2015. The Tigers have the most losses in baseball since.

Owner Chris Ilitch said in a statement Wednesday afternoon that once he "decided to make a change, I sat down with Al and thanked him for his nearly 22 years of service to our organization."

Avila joined the Tigers as assistant general manager and vice president in April of 2002. He helped the club spark a baseball renaissance in Detroit that featured two trips to the Wold Series and four straight division titles from 2011-14, but Avila faltered when he took full control.

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He swung and missed in his first crack at free agency when he sunk $200-plus million in Jordan Zimmermann and Justin Upton in 2015, then whiffed again this offseason when he invested $200-plus million in Javier Baez and Eduardo Rodriguez. He won't get a third swing.

"For nearly 22 years, I have given my heart and soul to this franchise, and I want to thank Mr. and Mrs. Ilitch, along with Chris, for the opportunity and treating me and my family as their own," Avila said in a statement. "We’ve celebrated successes and enjoyed great moments and I’m proud to have worked with so many talented people in baseball operations and throughout the organization.

"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 in the coming years."

Ilitch said he will oversee the search for the Tigers' next "baseball operations leader, in collaboration with several members of our baseball and business operations executive teams.”

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