A.J. Hinch and Scott Harris' Tigers fate revealed by MLB insider

Jon Conahan

A.J. Hinch and Scott Harris' Tigers fate revealed by MLB insider image

The Detroit Tigers are in the midst of a historic collapse. 

For a team that was one of the best in Major League Baseball throughout much of the early stages of the campaign, the second half hasn't been kind to the Tigers, something they have to figure out moving forward.

While disappointing in many senses, there are a few reasons why the Tigers haven't played the type of baseball they were hoping for in the second half. The simple fact of the matter is that the organization didn't do enough at the trade deadline. 

Tigers won't make drastic decision

Whether that's to be blamed on Scott Harris or the ownership, somebody has to take blame for this fall. However, according to MLB Insider Robert Murray of FanSided, he doesn't expect either Harris or A.J. Hinch to lose their job this offseason. 

"The Tigers’ trade deadline, which featured many small moves without a big splash, was criticized heavily at the time. Now, it looks like one of the worst deadlines in recent memory by a contender," Murray wrote. "But it won’t be enough to cost Harris his job. At least, it shouldn’t.

"Hinch, on the other hand, is a different story. He’s one of baseball’s most decorated managers, a players manager who often extracts the best out of his teams. He’s the perfect manager for Detroit and it’s unimaginable that he’s fired. If he was, he’d be hired elsewhere in a second."

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Firing Hinch wouldn't be the right decision, but there's certainly an argument to be made that Harris has to go. 

If Harris wants to be the decision maker for a team that was expected to compete for a World Series, he simply can't have the trade deadline he did. 

There's no other way around that.

Jon Conahan

Jon Conahan is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. A 2022 Penn State University graduate who majored in journalism, he was also a member of the school's D1 baseball team. His work has been featured on Sports Illustrated, Heavy and other outlets. Jon makes home in North Jersey, but also resides in Cape Coral, Florida, for parts of the year. He’s an avid fan of the New York Yankees, Miami Dolphins and Milwaukee Bucks.