Ilitch on Tigers: 'I believe we're on the right path'

DETROIT -- The Tigers always hold their team photo in the waning weeks of the season. It originally was scheduled for Tuesday but was rained out until Friday, which might have been fitting with the Orioles in town.

Barring a bizarre stretch run, one of these teams will get the first overall pick in next year’s MLB Draft -- the second top pick in a row for the O’s, or the second time in three years for the Tigers. And few owners took as close of an interest in the first overall pick as Tigers chairman/CEO Christopher Ilitch did in the process that led the Tigers to Auburn right-hander Casey Mize 15 months ago.

It was part of the rebuilding process the Tigers began two years ago with the trades of J.D. Martinez, Justin Verlander and Justin Upton. And as the Tigers finish up their first 100-loss season since 2003, the chairman continues to look into the future with the outlook that better days are ahead if they can get through the lean years now.

“I feel exceptionally confident that the path that the Detroit Tigers are on is the right path to success,” Ilitch said Friday afternoon. “I think [general manager] Al Avila and his staff have done an excellent job at bringing new talent into our system and now developing that talent. In fact, it's not just what I think; there's demonstrated results.”

Ilitch cited rankings of farm systems across baseball, including MLB Pipeline placing the Tigers sixth on its list of top 15 systems.

“I feel very confident we're on the right path to building a perennial contending team that on a sustainable basis can compete, and hopefully enter the playoffs and beyond that compete for championships and ultimately win a World Series championship,” Ilitch said. “That is our goal, and I believe we're on the right path. This is all part of that process.”

Ilitch was at Comerica Park on Friday to follow the tradition his late father, former Tigers owner Mike Ilitch, established in being part of the team photo every year. His comments were his first since the Tigers announced a multi-year contract extension for Avila in July.

Ilitch did not get into how many years the contract extension covers, citing company policy, but he discussed his reasoning behind the extension.

“Al laid out a very ambitious and comprehensive vision for the Detroit Tigers,” Ilitch said, “and he has been executing that vision very well. We've added a lot of significant top-line talent into our system, and it's developing very nicely. Beyond that, I've been very impressed with Al's leadership, with his focus and his steadfast progress on improving our scouting, our drafting, our player development and building out our analytics capabilities, which now are contributing to better decision-making all across our baseball operations. So that, combined with: Al’s a proven commodity. His 30 years of baseball experience is serving our organization exceptionally well through this rebuilding phase.”

Ilitch deferred to Avila on the status of manager Ron Gardenhire, but noted that Gardenhire is under contract for next season and that Avila has discussed the manager’s status with Gardenhire. He also said they said were all on the same page in terms of organizational direction.

“With Gardy, here's what I would say: Our players have battled so hard under his leadership,” Avila said. “They are developing under Gardy. Gardy is doing a fine job, and I really admire the resolve that both Gardy and Al have shown through this whole rebuilding process because it's a grind and it's not easy.”

Asked if there’s any dissenting opinion on the state of the rebuild, Ilitch said, “My nine-year-old son is not happy. He really wants us to win, like right now. And I say, ‘Son, I want to win right now.’ And then I’ll explain to him how the process works. And he gets it, kind of, but he still wants to see us win.

“But he’s like Tiger fans: He’s still there, he’s watching the games, he’s rooting for them game in and game out. Hey, it’s a process. It’s a tough process, I get that. It’s tough for me. I want to win as much as anybody. We’re going to get there.”

On other topics:

• Asked about the timing of adding veteran talent to help a young core, Ilitch said, “Al and I have talked a lot about that. That is certainly part of the plan. When Al feels the time is ready, he's going to have the resources to go out and address specific needs. It's undoubtedly a part of our plan.”

• Ilitch said the team will discuss the possibility of extended netting at season’s end. “We made the decision last year to extend the netting further than many other teams throughout Major League Baseball. I'm very pleased with that decision,” he said. “I think it was the right decision. It's an important issue, our fans’ safety, and we'll continue to study the issue at the conclusion of this season and we'll make the determination as to where we go from here, if we extend it further or leave it as it is or what have you.”

• Ilitch said his organization continues to explore the possibility of establishing its own regional sports network after the sale of Fox Sports Detroit to Sinclair Broadcast Group last month. “First, I would say Fox Sports Detroit has been an excellent partner and is an excellent partner to our Detroit Tigers and our Detroit Red Wings,” he said. “You know, sports programming on television and across digital platforms is some of the strongest that is out there. A new regional sports network could be a benefit to our fans, to our teams, to our community. So we're going to continue to study it. We haven't made any determinations yet.”