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Detroit Tigers: Jonathan Schoop’s new deal a sign of things to come?

By Bob Heyrman

(Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images)
(Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) /
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The Detroit Tigers have locked up veteran infielder Jonathan Schoop to a two-year extension, and perhaps it’s a sign of things to come for the organization.

Recently, Detroit Tigers president and CEO Christopher Ilitch mentioned that the organization is prepared to spend in free agency, possibly even this winter.  It’s clear the Tigers are finally trending upwards, and we’ve yet to see the organization’s top two positional players in Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene.

If both prospects perform as advertised in the coming years, this roster guided by manager A.J. Hinch is poised to make some noise.

Detroit Tigers have agreed to terms with Jonathan Schoop on a two-year extension worth $15-million.

The deal also includes an opt-out following the 2022 season.  I’m sincerely surprised by the extension.  Schoop recently hired Scott Boras to be his representation. Although Boras has a rich history with former Tigers owner Mike Ilitch, he has yet to build a similar relationship with Chris.

After reading that Boras would be Schoop’s new agent, I felt he’d be destined to at least test the open market.  Schoop has signed a pair of one-year deals with the Tigers and has rewarded the organization by stashing an overall line of .287/.332/.470 along with an OPS of .802.

Schoop earned $6.1 million during his first season in Detroit, followed by $4.5 million this season.  He gets a well-deserved raise starting next season with his new deal that averages $7.5 million per season.

Although Schoop has spent the majority of this year playing first base, he’s a solid second baseman and becomes one of the league’s better hitting second basemen in the league.  I feel the organization is wasting the offense playing him at first, knowing the organization could have signed a legitimate power-hitting first baseman in free agency.

If the power-hitting Torkelson can make the opening day lineup in 2022, the organization will have the ability to play him at first or slide Jeimer Candelario across the diamond and plug Schoop back in as the everyday second baseman, which only lengthens the teams batting order.

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The Jonathan Schoop extension a sign of things to come for the Detroit Tigers?

The Detroit Tigers have a glaring need at shortstop and could use some reliable depth starting pitchers.  Ironically, there is an abundance of big named shortstops set to hit the open market this upcoming offseason.  At this point, all signs point to a potential reunion between Hinch and pending free agent Carlos Correa.

Correa turns 27-years old in September and is just about to hit his prime.  Signing Correa does come with some risks.  The 26-year old shortstop has had availability issues throughout his seven-year career.  In 2016, his second season, Correa appeared in a career-high 153 games.  Last season Correa played in 58 contests during the COVID-19 shortened season, and thus far, in 2021, he’s played in 101 of Houston’s games.  Throughout the other four seasons, Correa had appeared in 110 games or less and had been limited to just 75 games in 2019.

Injuries happen, and the MLB schedule is certainly a grind.  There isn’t enough to make the Detroit Tigers shy away from signing Correa to possibly even a long-term six-year deal, but the signing does come with some injury concerns.

Correa is a player that can stabilize the middle of Detroit’s lineup, and he’s one of the better players at his position in all of baseball.  To date, he’s stashed a line of .275/.355/.479 with an OPS of .834.  He’s hit 124 home runs, drove in 456 runs, and has 33 stolen bases over 705 games.

Next. Matt Manning will be just fine in due time. dark

Additional names to look for over the winter; Marcus Semien, Corey Seager, Trevor Story, Javier Baez, and Tigers legend Justin Verlander.

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