Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila sat down with Justin Verlander, J.D. Martinez and Miguel Cabrera to explain his plan for the future. Not long after Avila became the organization's leader in August 2015, the franchise was entering a full-fledged rebuild.
"We all knew Cabrera was the one guy I couldn't trade," Avila said earlier this month, six years after assuming the general manager role. "He understood what was going on."
The Tigers missed the playoffs in 2016, their last-ditch effort for a World Series championship. Over the next four seasons, they endured a 198-345 record and three last place finishes in the American League Central.