Tigers part ways with Triple-A manager Nevin

DETROIT -- The Tigers parted ways with Triple-A Toledo manager Phil Nevin after five seasons in the organization, the last three with the Mud Hens.

The move was announced in Toledo, Ohio, after Saturday's game, the last home game of the season for the team. Tigers Minor League baserunning coordinator Gene Roof, who has spent much of the year in Toledo doing outfield work with top prospect Nick Castellanos, will manage the team for its final two games in Columbus, Ohio.

Nevin, a former Tigers player who rejoined the organization to manage Double-A Erie in 2009, went 61-81 this season with the Hens and 188-242 managing in the organization. The Tigers told Nevin earlier this week and gave him the option to finish out the season, according to John Wagner of the Toledo Blade, but he opted to return home to California after the Mud Hens' final home game.

"Phil's done a good job for us," Tigers president/general manager Dave Dombrowski said Sunday morning. "He's a good person. He's worked hard. He's a good man, been part of us for a while. Sometimes you just need to change the voice. But it is a difficult decision, because he's a good person who's worked hard for us and given his all."

Dombrowski said the Tigers haven't started a search for Nevin's replacement. Two former Mud Hens managers, Larry Parrish and Bruce Fields, returned to the organization this year. Parrish, the Hens' all-time leader in managerial wins, managed this year at Class A West Michigan. Fields, who managed in Toledo in 2001-02, is the organization's Minor League hitting coordinator.