The Detroit Tigers officially have their shortstop, having inked Javier Báez to a six-year deal worth $140 million. He was the second high-profile free-agent signing by GM Al Avila this offseason, following LHP Eduardo Rodriguez who signed a five-year, $77 million deal.
AJ Hinch believes In The ‘Winning Mentality' Of Javier Báez
The Tigers have gathered in Lakeland, FL for Spring Training after last week's resolution between the owners and players association, and second-year Tigers manager A.J. Hinch is getting an up-close and personal look at Báez's skill set. In fact, he's going so far as to call him “elite”.
“He's elite,” Hinch said. “It's really as simple as that. We wanted an elite shortstop, and we got one that wanted to be here. That was important, that Javy bought into what we were doing. He's a winning player.”
“He's certainly had his peaks and valleys, like all players have,” Hinch continued. “But we think his winning mentality is going to add to this group and carry us to the next level.”
Báez hit 31 home runs with 87 RBI last season with the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets. He was originally selected by the Cubs with the 9th overall pick in 2011 and was named NLCS co-MVP in 2016. The two-time All-Star has a career batting average of .264 with 149 home runs and 465 RBI.
– – Quotes via Evan Petzold Link – –
