(Photo credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports)

The Detroit Tigers named Jeff Greenberg as the franchise's 20th general manager on Thursday.

Greenberg, 37, spent 11 seasons in the Chicago Cubs organization -- the last three as assistant general manager -- before working the last 16 months as an associate GM with the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks.

The Tigers (71-81 entering Thursday), who are about to miss the playoffs for the ninth straight season, have been without a GM since firing Al Avila in August 2022.

Greenberg will report to Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris, whose time with the Cubs (2012-19) overlapped with Greenberg.

"I'm thrilled to add an executive of Jeff's quality to our baseball operations leadership team," Harris said. "Throughout this search, it was important for me to find someone who can fit seamlessly into the culture we're building here.

"I also wanted to bring in someone with a fresh perspective and new ideas that could challenge us on a daily basis and make us all better as we strive towards our goal of bringing postseason baseball back to Detroit."

In his most recent role with the Blackhawks, Greenberg worked across all functions of hockey operations, including scouting, development and coaching.

"It's an extraordinary honor to take on this role with one of the most historic franchises in Major League Baseball," Greenberg said. "Throughout my conversations with Scott, (owner) Chris Ilitch and the rest of the team with the Tigers, it became clear that this organization is headed in a great direction with an incredible culture of development and innovation that I'm excited to be part of.

"Another constant message in those conversations was that Tigers fans want to see winning baseball deep into October. I'm excited to get to work with our front office on offseason and longer-term plans to make that our reality."

Before his time in Chicago, Greenberg was an intern with the Pittsburgh Pirates (2006, 2008), Arizona Diamondbacks (2010) and Major League Baseball (2009-11).