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Normally we run approval polls for the Tigers' manager and general manager every month, but we opted to skip over new general manager Al Avila's first month on the job, as there wasn't really anything to grade him on anyway. Even now we don't have much to go by, but hey, we have to start somewhere. We could analyze every little move, like who he chose to call up when Shane Greene hit the disabled list (Tom Gorzelanny) or the September call-ups, but that wouldn't be overly productive. [Ed.: Is anything we do overly productive?]
While manager approval polls probably won't change very much throughout the offseason, the GM poll has the potential to take some very wide swings. Avila has plenty of work to do this offseason, and his approval rating could jump or plummet depending on how he fills the holes on the Tigers' roster.
Here's a quick rundown of some of the more meaningful moves Avila has made in his short tenure as the team's GM.
| Date | Item | Notes |
| 20-Aug | Tigers traded for Randy Wolf from the Toronto Blue Jays for cash considerations. | Anibal Sanchez and Daniel Norris placed on the disabled list. |
| 8-Sep | Tigers designated Daniel Fields for assignment, recalled Josh Wilson. | The Milwaukee Brewers claimed Fields off of waivers. |
| 22-Sep | Bruce Rondon sent home for the remainder of the season. | Rondon was disciplined for a lack of effort. |
| 26-Sep | Tigers announced they would be retaining Brad Ausmus and his coaching staff for the 2016 season. | News leaked on September 10th that Ausmus would be fired at season's end. |
It should also be noted that, while not related to a specific event, Avila has expanded the front office, including adding several major league scouts as well as a couple of analytics experts. The increased focus on advanced analysis is particularly interesting, and it's something that Avila said would be "a big difference" from his predecessor. While advanced analysis was available to the coaches and players during the Dombrowski era, the Tigers "have a ways to go to catch up with the industry," according to Avila.
So that's about all we've got. It's not much, but it's a start. Heading into the offseason, do you feel confident in Avila's ability to finish the reboot that he and Dombrowski started?