Ron Gardenhire will return as Tigers manager in 2020

This didn’t seem to be in any sort of doubt, but Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila announced that Ron Gardenhire will return as the team’s manager for the 2020 season. Gardenhire, who has piloted the club to a 107-200 record so far in his two seasons as the Tigers’ skipper, is under contract through the 2020 season.

Though Gardenhire’s record with the Tigers is awful, it’s hard to lay the blame at his feet. The Tigers are in the lowest point of their current rebuild (we hope), and were projected to be one of the worst teams in baseball for both seasons he has been in charge. His in-game management has been lacking at times, but other than the usual pitfalls most MLB managers fall into — you know, iffy bullpen management and the like — there is little we can pin on Gardenhire himself.

It will be interesting to see how the Tigers manage Gardenhire’s contract going forward. Most MLB managers prefer to not head into the final season of their contract, for fear of appearing as a “lame duck” to the players in their clubhouse. Announcing that Gardenhire will return without any mention of a contract extension is strange, but without any more context — we don’t know if this topic was brought up by Avila unprompted, if he was asked specifically, or any other details — it’s tough to read any further into the situation.

But enough from us, what do you think?