"This is a massive win in all regards" "Winning baseball is returning to Detroit" - MLB World reacts to Detroit Tigers hiring former San Francisco Giants GM Scott Harris as President of Baseball Operations

The Detroit Tigers have finally found their next President of Baseball Operations. 36-year-old Scott Harris will take over the reigns from the dismissed Al Avila as confirmed by Tigers' chairman and CEO Christopher Ilitch.

Avila, who is the father of former major leaguer Alex Avila, spent 20 years with the Detroit Tigers front office. On August 10, 2022, he was let go of the organization after the team's poor performance.

Just over a month later, his replacement was found in the form of Scott Harris. The Redwood City, California native previously worked for the Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants.

In Chicago, Harris, along with Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer, were instrumental in putting together the team that ended the century-long curse and helped the Cubs win the World Series.

His time in San Francisco was a productive one as well. During his first two seasons in the front office, the Giants boasted a .613 winning percentage that was good for third-best across the time span.

It was also under Harris' watch when San Francisco shocked the baseball world after snatching the National League West title from the Los Angeles Dodgers. This prevented the Dodgers' streak after LA won the division for eight straight seasons.

Needless to say, Detroit Tigers fans were elated upon hearing the news. MLB fans, meanwhile, were intrigued by the move.

Harris also worked as the league's coordinator for Major League Operations of the MLB before his job on the north side of Chicago. He also had other stints in the MLB with the Nationals' and Reds' front office.

Detroit Tigers' forgettable season

Despite investing in the signing of Javier Baez and the debuts of top prospects Spencer Thorkelson and Riley Greene, the Detroit Tigers have been massively disappointing this year.

This shouldn't be the case as the Tigers play in arguably the least-competitive division in the league. Harris will certainly have his work cut out for him as the Tigers haven't appeared in the postseason since 2014.

Upon being asked what he saw in Harris, Tigers chairman and CEO Christopher Ilitch praised Harris for his strategies on how to handle a club in the modern day.

The Tigers are currently in the bottom cellar of the AL Central at 56-91. It would be interesting to see what the future holds for the squad with a fresh face calling the shots from the front office.

About the author

Daniel Santiago is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. He was drawn towards the sport after the underlying statistics and the analysis surrounding it grabbed his attention.

Daniel particularly enjoys furnishing reports about historic events in baseball and analyzing the game through a statistic-based outlook, based on Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference. This is in line with how he enjoyed watching baseball as a pastime. As a writer, he is very particular about cross-checking from reputable sources and doing his due diligence.

He became a lifelong Hideki Matsui fan after his exploits in the 2009 World Series for the New York Yankees. Among the current generation, Daniel's favorites include Shohei Ohtani and Jung Hoo Lee. Daniel is a huge follower of Asian baseball and both Ohtani and Lee have been in the top echelon of their respective leagues during their time with the NPB and KBO.

His favorite moment as a baseball fan was the final at-bat of the 2023 World Baseball Classic between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. He believes there aren't many words to fittingly describe the intensity of the moment.

As an avid sports fan, Daniel watches other sports and Esports when not writing about baseball.

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