Detroit – Alex Avila knew toward the end of last season the odds were long against him returning to the Tigers in 2016. He was going to be a free agent. And coming back to the Tigers meant playing a back-up role to catcher James McCann. Not yet 30 years old, he wasn't ready to give up on playing every day.
Still, it was an emotional moment last week when he signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the Chicago White Sox, officially cutting the cord with the Tigers.
"It was mixed emotions," he said in a teleconference Monday.