The Detroit Tigers have recently engaged in contract talks with free-agent shortstop Javier Baez, according to a report from the MLB Network on Friday.
That’s not necessarily a surprise, as the Tigers have talked and will continue to talk to all of the top-tier free-agent shortstops.
But Friday’s news -- along with a report by ESPN that the Tigers were intensifying their focus on Baez -- came amid a flurry of Black Friday signings less than one week before an expected lockout on Dec. 1.
The New York Mets -- Baez’s former team -- were in the thick of the action, signing utility man Eduardo Escobar and outfielders Mark Canha and Starling Marte.
Marte’s four-year, $78 million deal was the largest of the free-agent season, beating the guaranteed total given by the Tigers to left-handed pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez by $1 million.
So amid all the last-minute signings leading up to the potential work stoppage, it wouldn’t be totally unexpected if the Tigers got in on the act.
The problem is that none of the five top-tier shortstops -- Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Trevor Story and Javier Baez -- have signed.
Baez is likely to be among the cheapest of the group, with projections ranging from four years and $90 million to six years and $150 million.
Just as it seems unlikely that Baez would rush into a lower-than-expected deal this early in the winter, it seems equally unlikely that the Tigers would make a market-busting offer right now.
But the prospect of a long lockout and the uncertainty that would accompany a compressed signing period just before spring training could prompt teams and players to be bolder than usual in the final few days before Dec. 1.
Baez, who turns 29 on Dec. 1, is an elite defender at short who has also been very good at second and third. His offensive production has been more befitting a slugger: A lot of home runs and a lot of strikeouts. In fact, Baez struck out a league-high 184 times and had just 28 walks in 547 plate appearances in a 2021 season split between the Cubs and Mets.
But the power (31 homers) was still there and that could be intriguing to the Tigers, who are looking to upgrade their shortstop position without making the kind of budget-shattering, 10-year commitment that someone like Correa would require.
Baez makes sense. But does he make sense in November, before the rest of the market has shaken out? In four days, we’ll know for sure.
Tigers general manager Al Avila said last week that he doesn’t feel any added pressure to get something done before Dec. 1.
“If you do things hastily, sometimes they don’t turn out the best way,” he said. “I think we’re doing it as business as usual. We’re talking to agents, we’re talking to other clubs. We’ll continue to work until they tell me differently.
“I don’t think the quote-unquote looming deadline is going to establish the market. I think the market establishes itself like it does every year. And it develops as time goes along. You see some guys signing a little bit earlier, and there’s going to be some guys that are going to wait a little bit longer. Every year is different.”
Ad Choices