Dombrowski relieved as Tigers president/GM to 'pursue other opportunities'
Dave Dombrowski has been relieved of his duties as the president and general manager of the Detroit Tigers, team owner Mike Ilitch announced Tuesday.
"I've decided to release Dave from his contract in order to afford him the time to pursue other career opportunities," Ilitch told reporters Tuesday. "I feel this is the right time for the Tigers to move forward under new leadership."
Related: 3 potential landing spots for Dombrowski
The Tigers have named Al Avila the club's new GM and executive vice president of baseball operations. He will report directly to Ilitch.
The news came as a surprise just a week after Dombrowski was permitted to trade Cy Young winner David Price to the Toronto Blue Jays and 2014 All-Star Yoenis Cespedes to the New York Mets. The Tigers are 51-54 this season and are currently just three games back of an American League wild-card spot.
The 59-year-old was named president and CEO of the Tigers ahead of the 2002 season and assumed the general manager role after he fired incumbent GM Randy Smith and manager Phil Garner following an 0-6 start to the year.
Despite starting his career in Detroit with two 100-plus loss seasons, Dombrowski's teams have had great recent success winning the AL Central the past four seasons and reaching a pair of World Series appearances during his reign (2006 and 2012).
He spent nine seasons as GM of the Florida Marlins, helping them become the fastest expansion team to win the World Series, claiming a title in 1997. Though he left the team in 2001, he is still credited with building a large portion of the Marlins roster that went on to win the 2003 Series.
He also served as GM of the Montreal Expos from 1988-91.
There are many reporters that believe Dombrowski will become the next president of the Blue Jays after Paul Beeston retires at the end of the season, but there is speculation the highly respected executive could also be headed to the Boston Red Sox, Seattle Mariners, or Los Angeles Angels.