DETROIT — The Detroit Tigers were in talks Thursday to hire Ron Gardenhire as manager, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made. Gardenhire was the bench coach this season for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He managed the Minnesota Twins from 2002-14.

The Tigers are replacing Brad Ausmus after four seasons at the helm. Detroit finished tied for the worst record in the majors this year at 64-98 and faces what figures to be a tough rebuilding process.

Gardenhire is plenty familiar to Tigers fans after his long run managing an AL Central rival. The Twins won the division six times in his first nine seasons in charge, and he was voted AL Manager of the Year in 2010.

Gardenhire went 1,068-1,039 with the Twins, and although Minnesota didn’t have much postseason success under him, the franchise was a picture of stability for much of his tenure. The Twins finally slipped from 2011-14, losing at least 92 games in all four of those seasons.