The season for the Detroit Tigers ended without a berth in the MLB postseason for the first time since 2023, a disappointing end to a campaign that began in the spring with aspirations of not only another playoff berth, but serious contention for a World Series title.
On Monday, Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris spoke with the media and covered multiple subjects, including the trade of Tarik Skubal, along with their plans for building through the draft.
And while there will be changes to the club over the next several months, the most immediate changes have been announced.
The Detroit Tigers Have Released Multiple Coaches
According to MLB Insiders Cody Stavenhagen and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Tigers will not be bringing back first-base coach Anthony Sanders along with assistant pitching coach Juan Nieves.
“The Detroit Tigers have parted ways with at least two members of their coaching staff. First-base coach Anthony Sanders and assistant pitching coach Juan Nieves will not return next season, team and league sources with knowledge of the decisions who were not authorized to speak publicly told The Athletic on Tuesday,” the report read.
Anthony Sanders was with the Tigers for just one season after spending the previous six years with the Baltimore Orioles. The 58 stolen bases (caught 23 times) for the Tigers this season were the second lowest in the Majors, ahead of only the Houston Astros.
Meanwhile, Juan Nieves had been on Detroit’s Major League staff since 2021. Before that, he worked as the pitching coach for the Triple-A affiliate Toledo Mud Hens before making the move to the Tigers’ big league staff.
They became the second and third coaches let go by the Tigers in 2026, as the club also relieved third-base coach Joey Cora of his duties earlier in the campaign.
Scott Harris Met With The Media On Monday
Scott Harris met with the media on Monday, explaining that the club never fully rebounded from the month of May in which they won just six of 28 games.
“You can’t go 6-22 in a month and expect to punch your ticket to the postseason at this level,” Harris said. “We woke up on June 1 and we were in last place. It felt like we had lost a player and a game every day for about a month. It felt like we were sunk in that moment, and upon reflection, our inability to overcome adversity in real time starts with me. I didn’t build enough depth into this roster this year. Our vulnerabilities in this roster got exposed in May, and it cost us, and that’s part of the reason why I have a huge pit in my stomach thinking about this season.”
He also had this to say about how the roster was constructed:
“That was a design mistake, I think, of how we built the roster,” Harris said. “We didn’t want to block young players. … In the end, we probably should have just strengthened our depth and made sure that we could get through April and May intact.”
Tigers Fire Pair Of Coaches After Missing Playoffs