The Detroit Tigers officially have their short stop, inking Javier Báez to a six year deal worth $140 million. He’s 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.
And for fellow Puerto Rican Joe Jimenez, he’s going to be a massive help for the team in 2022 as the Tigers look to take the next step in their rebuild under manager AJ Hinch.
“He’s going to help us a lot,” Jimenez said. “We’re going to have a good lineup. With Javy playing shortstop, it’s going to make a huge difference. Everybody knows what he can do. The way he plays is contagious. We feel excited for that.”
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 – –
