Detroit Tigers Have One of Worst Contracts in MLB With Disastrous Infielder
The Detroit Tigers are led by one of the best young cores in baseball, but that doesn't mean they have not had some major hiccups in the pursuit of a roster that looks to be on the cusp of becoming a legitimate World Series contender.
In an attempt to supplement a team full of young talent with a player who had the makings of a superstar previously, Detroit awarded former Chicago Cubs and New York Mets shortstop Javier Báez with a six-year, $140 million contract in the offseason prior to the 2022 season. It was an aggressive move at the time that showed the team's belief that Báez could be a key piece of a team that - as they have demonstrated this season - was on the way to becoming a force to be reckoned with.
Instead of helping the team take the next step, Báez has instead become one of the worst contracts in the entire league and has been a shell of the superstar he used to be. Three years into the deal, the Tigers still have a staggering $73 million committed to Báez over the next three seasons. In a recent article highlighting the worst contracts in the league, Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report ranked Detroit's unfortunate swing and miss on the shortstop as the No. 3 worst deal in the league.
"At his peak with the Chicago Cubs, shortstop Javier Báez was one of the most dynamic players in baseball, making back-to-back All-Star appearances and finishing runner-up in 2018 NL MVP balloting on the strength of his power, speed and elite defense," Reuter wrote. "[Báez] has hit an unsightly .221/.262/.347 for a 71 OPS+ in 1,426 plate appearances over the first three years of that deal, and his already diminished production cratered in 2024 when he hit .184 with a 46 OPS+ in 289 plate appearances before undergoing season-ending hip surgery."
A pleasant surprise that could ease the pain of wasting hundreds of millions on Báez is the fact that Trey Sweeney - who the team acquired in the Jack Flaherty deal - was able to step into a major role in 2024 down the stretch. While Sweeney did not do enough offensively to go into next year as the unquestioned shortstop, at least the team knows they have a playable alternative to the unplayable Báez of the last three years.
Barring a surprising free agent or trade acquisition this winter, Báez and Sweeney will be platooning at short to start the season and anything the team gets out of Báez at this point is a bonus given what he has shown thus far.
