3 MLB managers on the hot seat one month into 2023
By Scott Roche
A.J. Hinch, Detroit Tigers
Like the Nationals, A.J. Hinch’s success with the Houston Astros seems like a long time ago. His tenure there ended with the cheating scandal the organization went through before the pandemic, but it didn’t take long for Hinch to find another job.
He was hired prior to the 2021 season by the Detroit Tigers, but things have not gone as well as the team hoped they would. Detroit had expectations they would compete for a postseason spot in 2021, but finished 77-85, before finishing 30 games under .500 last season at 66-96.
This season, Hinch pulled Javier Baez from a game against the Toronto Blue Jays because he lost track of the outs and ran himself into a double play. It’s never a good thing when you need to pull a guy you signed to a six-year, $144 million contract to be a leader of a team with young players that have underachieved the last two seasons and there is hope they finally crack the .500 mark by the end of the season.
Hinch has to be looking over his shoulder a,s since his hiring, the Tigers hired Scott Harris as president of baseball operations. When there is a new boss above you and you are not the guy he hired, it’s always a tenuous situation and they will want to bring in their own guy, something Hinch could find out soon.