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Dave Dombrowski released as Tigers president/GM in surprising shake-up

Mike Oz
(AP)
(AP)

After moving David Price and Yoenis Cespedes at last week's trade deadline, it turned out the most surprising move from the Detroit Tigers was yet to come: Dave Dombrowski, the club's president/GM, was released from his contract Tuesday by team ownership.

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It's certainly unexpected, considering Dombrowski was the architect of the Tigers' success the past few years. Al Avila, Dombrowski's longtime assistant, has been named his successor. Al Avila had worked alongside Dombrowski since 2002. He's the father of Tigers' catcher Alex Avila.

Team owner Mike Illitch commented about Dowbrowski's departure in a statement:

“I’ve decided to release Dave from his contract in order to afford him the time to pursue other career opportunities. I feel this is the right time for the Tigers to move forward under new leadership.”

Dombrowski doesn't figure to be out of work for long and the buzz around baseball is that he's a good fit for the soon-to-be-open president job with the Toronto Blue Jays. From Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan:

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Dombrowski, 59, was previously the GM of the Florida Marlins and Montreal Expos. He'd been with the Tigers since 2002. His teams made two World Series appearances, but lost both times, and made the playoffs five times. Before their disappointing 2015, the Tigers had won the AL Central four straight years. His contract was up after this season.

Dombrowski's release is being called a "mutual parting of ways" by USA Today's Bob Nightengale while Jon Morosi of Fox Sports is saying the team "did right" by Dombrowski by giving him a head start on the job market. Most concur that Dombrowski will be fine. The bigger question is whether the Tigers can quickly return to a place of power with a new boss.

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!