Fredi Gonzalez was almost the candidate in 2017.
The Detroit Tigers, recovering from the Brad Ausmus era, needed a new manager. The organization finally embraced the rebuild, dumping Justin Verlander to the Houston Astros for prospects, but Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal, Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson — now at the top of the farm system's rankings — were not even drafted yet.
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The next three years were going to be tough, and Gonzalez, according to reports, was the front-runner for the managerial vacancy.