Former Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire will be named to the same position with the Detroit Tigers, sources tell the Athletic's Ken Rosenthal.
Gardenhire spent this past season as the Arizona Diamondbacks bench coach under manager Torey Lovullo. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in February and underwent surgery in April. He missed five weeks of the season before returning to the team in May.
The 59-year-old replaces Brad Ausmus, whose contract expired at the end of the season and who went 314-332 (.486) over his four-year run.
A contract agreement or length of the deal is unknown. It is likely the Tigers and Gardenhire still are negotiating a contract.
The decision was made after Gardenhire impressed general manager Al Avila in an interview at Comerica Park on Tuesday. He interviewed with the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday.
In 13 years with the Twins, Gardenhire posted a 1,068-1,039 regular-season record (.507 winning percentage) and led the club to six American League Central titles and the 2002 American League Championship Series.
During the process, Avila interviewed a number of candidates, including Marlins third base coach Fredi Gonzalez, White Sox third base coach Joe McEwing, Giants hitting coach Hensley Meulens, Astros bench coach Alex Cora and Rockies bench coach Mike Redmond. Internal candidates Omar Vizquel and Dave Clark also interviewed for the position.
After announcing Ausmus would not return for the 2018 season, Avila said Major League managerial experience would be preferred. With Gardenhire, the Tigers get plenty of that.
The Detroit Free Press contributed to this report.
