Tigers Star Javier Baez Terminates 6 Years Contract Worth $140M With Reason Being That ,That’s the question Christopher Ilitch, the owner of the Detroit Tigers, ought to put to the guy formerly known as “El Mago.”
It was no secret that when Detroit signed Baez to a six-year, $140 million contract in 2021, former general manager Al Avila saddled the team with a poor contract. Baez’s first two years in Detroit were more trick than treat, but he was once probably the hottest player in the league, earning him the nickname “magician.” After settling into his new residence, “El Mago” seems to have pulled off his biggest trick to far.
Among eligible MLB hitters, Baez has the absolute lowest OPS (on-base plus slugging) of any player at.422. His WAR (wins over replacement) is? Moreover, his batting average (.167) is the second lowest in MLB. Ignore it.
WAR measures a player’s relative wins over a replacement player—that is, a player a team can call up from Triple-A ball or sign off the street for a salary below the league minimum.
This number for Baez indicates that the Tigers could potentially find a better player overall in their farm system, but more often than not, they could give a random popcorn vendor at Comerica Park some batting gloves and a helmet and get better production from them than they would from Baez in 2024.
The popcorn vender mentioned earlier? They’d qualify for the league at minimum. Conversely, Baez is by far Detroit’s highest-paid player. His contract is worth $140 million. Colt Keith, a rookie, has the second-largest contract on the team, although his six-year salary is only $28.6 million.
For being the worst player in baseball, Baez is getting paid $25 million by the Tigers, and they will have to give him an additional $25 million in 2025 and $24 million in 2026 and 2027.
President of Baseball Operations Scott Harris cannot avoid this one because he signed a fully guaranteed deal, but when is Detroit not sending the wrong message to its youthful and impressionable fan base?
Ilitch might be blind to the loss of $98 million in his couch cushions. Regardless, he is discarding the money that was spent on Baez. Why not send a message to the once-proud organization and DFA (designate for assignment) Baez?
Harris and Ilitch would be arguing that Detroit cannot tolerate unfavorable outcomes.
That would, of course, assume that Ilitch is genuinely interested in creating a successful product as opposed to just selling fancy daiquiris and packing seats, and alas, there isn’t much evidence to support that.
The Tigers are spending just $110 million on a patchwork squad of young players who are failing and veterans who haven’t been as dependable, given the league salary cap of $237 million.
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