Cardinals Rumors: Tigers interested in poaching top St. Louis executive

The Detroit Tigers are interested in poaching top St. Louis Cardinals executive Matt Slater in what would be a huge loss for the front office.

Not only do the St. Louis Cardinals have one of the best rosters in baseball, but they also have one of the best front offices in baseball. The jobs that president of baseball operations John Mozeliak and general manager Michael Girsch have done in turning the franchise into an annual postseason contender is impressive.

And it appears that other teams are taking notice.

The Detroit Tigers, who fired general manager Al Avila during the season, are interested in Cardinals executive Matt Slater to replace Avila, according to Lynn Henning of the Detroit News.

Slater, who currently works in the Cardinals’ baseball operations department, has been an underrated yet vital part of their front office. He has been a lead scout and a huge driving factor in the organization becoming active in scouting and signing players in Asia and other countries. He has received praise from Mozeliak publicly and others around the league and has been viewed as someone that could draw GM interest at some point.

That time appears to be now – and not only that, it appears that Slater is one of the Tigers’ top candidates. Henning wrote that in addition to Slater, Dodgers vice president of baseball operations Josh Byrnes is “among the top candidates.” Another candidate is reportedly Arizona Diamondbacks executive Jason McLeod, who has been mentioned as a GM option for years dating back to his time working with Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer with the Chicago Cubs.

Byrnes and Tigers manager AJ Hinch are close – they worked together with the Arizona Diamondbacks – and that connection could ultimately reunite them again. If that happens, Slater’s name surely will continue to draw interest around the league. Teams have figured out how vital he is to the Cardinals front office and his name could soon emerge as a top candidate for other GM positions, especially as they continue to surge to the top of the National League.