Report: Tigers Sign SS Baez To $140 Million Contract

Pending a physical, the Detroit Tigers have agreed to a six-year deal worth $140 million with free agent shortstop Javier Baez (pictured).

Baez had been one of the top-level shortstops that were available in free agency this offseason.  Others are/were:  Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, and Trevor Storey.

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Javier is the third acquisition that the Tigers have made since the end of the 2020 regular season.  The team traded for catcher Tucker Barnhardt and signed free agent pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez to a multi-year deal.

Baez was a member of the historic 2016 Chicago Cubs World Series-winning team.  He stayed with the Cubs until he was traded to the New York Mets before the 2020 trade deadline.  He hit a combined .273 with the Cubs and Mets last season.

The Tigers, as well as other teams, are scrambling to assemble their rosters for the 2022 season now before the current collective bargaining agreement between the MLB owners and the MLB Players Association expires on Wednesday night at 11:59pm eastern time.

Detroit also has to decide what to do with their remaining arbitration-eligible players (players with more than 3 years of MLB service time, but fewer than 6 years in, in most cases) by 8pm Tuesday night.  They include:  Jeimer Candelario, Joe Jimenez, and former American League Rookie of the Year, Michael Fulmer.

With veteran Matthew Boyd likely being non-tendered and Spencer Turnbull spending most of 2022 recovering from Tommy John surgery, many other Tigers observers believe that the team is still in the market for another starting pitcher, even after the signing of Eduardo Rodriguez.