Javier Baez, 31, will remain with the Detroit Tigers.
“Baez will not exercise his opt-out clause (to terminate his contract and become a free agent) and will return to Detroit in 2024,” the Detroit Free Press reported on Sunday. Baes signed a six-year, $140 million ($181.9 million) deal with Detroit in December 2021. It included the right to opt out after the 2023 season, but he opted to “remain” rather than move on. This means he will be paid a total of $98 million ($12.74 billion) over the next four years.
The Puerto Rican native has a career (10-year) Major League Baseball (MLB) batting average of .256 with 175 home runs and 591 RBIs. In 2018, while playing for the Chicago Cubs, he hit 34 home runs and 111 RBIs, earning the National League (NL) Silver Slugger Award at second base. In 2020, he won a Gold Glove at shortstop. In 2016, he was one of the key players in the Cubs’ World Series victory. Despite his stellar resume, he had high expectations when he arrived in Detroit, but he underperformed.
He hit .238 in 144 games last year and .222 in 136 games this season. His two-season totals are .230 (1065-for-245) with 26 home runs and 126 RBIs. His productivity at the plate has been hampered by a horrendous strikeout-to-walk ratio. The Detroit Free Press reports that in 136 games in 2023, he hit .222 with nine home runs, 24 walks (4.4% walk rate), and 125 strikeouts (22.9% strikeout rate) for a woeful .593 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage). The 10-year MLB veteran noted that he was “stuck in the sixth to eighth spot in the batting order for most of the second half of the season. 카지노사이트
By remaining with the team, Baes is due $25 million in 2024 and 2025, and $24 million in 2026 and 2027. A no-trade clause for 10 teams is a “bonus.
