But the decision-makers were not split about the move.
"It was unanimous," said Leyland. "We didn't speculate his consistency was going to be there. We really made the best decision we could make."
Thus ends one heck of a bumpy ride with a pitcher who once was a runner-up for the National League's Cy Young Award and who once won 22 games.
But who never came close to accomplishing what the Tigers hoped he would when they signed him to a three-year, $29 million contract extension following the trade that brought Willis (and Miguel Cabrera) to the Tigers before the 2008 season.
The Tigers are still on the hook for the remainder of Willis' $12 million salary this year, which amounts to about $8 million.