Javier Baez Listed Among Worst Contracts in MLB by The Athletic

Tigers fans just can’t catch a break these days.

The season Miguel Cabrera retires and rids us of his albatross of a contract, Javy Baez opts in to a four year, $98 million deal.

The Athletic ranked the top 10 worst contracts in the sport this week, and surprise, surprise: Baez comes in at No. 5 overall.

It’s depressing to think about Baez’s contract for the next four years, but there could be some hope.

Tigers News: Baez Ranked as the Fifth Worst Contract in MLB

Baez was a suspect signing before the 2022 season, but it’s played out worse than most could have imagined.

He’s been one of the worst hitters in MLB over the past two seasons, hitting sub. 240 in each year with just 26 home runs across 280 games!

And while he’s still made some unbelievable, highlight-reel plays in the field, he also has the MOST errors in MLB over the past two seasons (45).

Those numbers are simply hard to fathom. Baez isn’t hitting for contact or power. He chases pitches outside of the zone. And worst of all, he’s too error-prone on defense – an area where he’s supposed to excel.

Of course, there is reason for optimism.

Baez, 30, is just two seasons removed from a 31-home-run, 18-steal campaign. Last season, he had nine outs above average in the field, with his range ranked in the 95th percentile.

If Baez can cut down on the errors and shift to a contact-oriented approach, he could turn into a serviceable veteran to lead an exciting young roster.

And it’s not as if the Tigers are going to give up on their investment.

They COULD try to trade him, but it’s almost a certainty that they’d have to eat a large majority of his contract. If that’s not an option, then it’s up to the Tigers coaching staff to get more out of him.

“Trying harder doesn’t necessarily satisfy people where the expectations are super high,” Tigers manager AJ Hinch told the Athletic, “but it does give hope that there are solutions out there and there are ways to surround him with a different way of doing things.

“Do I think we can just try harder again next spring? No, we’ve got to make some changes. I think he knows that.”

Here’s to hoping Baez gets better FAST.

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