Javier Báez declines to exercise opt-out clause with four years, $98 million on contract
Javier Báez will return to the Detroit Tigers in 2024 after he did not exercise the opt-out clause in his contract.
Báez, who turns 31 in early December, will make $98 million over the final four seasons of his six-year contract with the Tigers. He is under contract through the 2027 season.
The former two-time All-Star shortstop — also a former Gold Glove winner, National League MVP runner-up and World Series champion — had a Saturday deadline if he wanted to opt out of his contract.
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Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez, who blocked a trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the 2023 trade deadline, opted out of the final three seasons of his five-year contract with the Tigers, leaving $49 million on the table in favor of free agency.
Both decisions — Rodriguez to opt out, Báez not to opt out — were expected.
Báez hit .222 with nine home runs, 24 walks (4.4% walk rate) and 125 strikeouts (22.9% strikeout rate) over 136 games in the 2023 season, posting an abysmal .593 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. The 10-year MLB veteran spent almost the entire second half of the season in the Nos. 6-8 spots in the batting order.
He hit .177 against four-seam fastballs and .195 against four-seam fastballs inside the strike zone, all while continuing to swing and miss at sliders outside of the strike zone.
"This is a season I didn't want to have," Báez said Oct. 1, after the final game of the season. "I want to be there for my teammates and my team, especially at this time preparing for the postseason. I've been there, and I've been in this position, too, with it being the last game and going home. It doesn't feel good. I gotta get to work."
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In the 2022-23 seasons, Báez hit .230 with 26 home runs and a .634 OPS across 280 games with the Tigers. His 75 wRC+ ranks 109th among 110 qualified hitters over the past two seasons, ahead of only Cleveland Guardians outfielder Myles Straw.
He hit .265 with a .783 OPS in his first eight seasons, spent with the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets.
Báez signed a six-year, $140 million contract with the Tigers in December 2021. The contract, structured by then-general manager Al Avila, included an opt-out clause after the second season. He also has a 10-team no-trade clause.
Báez will receive $25 million in 2024, $25 million in 2025, $24 million in 2026 and $24 million in 2027. The Tigers hope to help him make swing adjustments before the 2024 season begins.
"I think there are some things that we can change about his work, about the specific things he needs working on, to make some adjustments that help him both at the plate and in the field," said Scott Harris, president of baseball operations. "But we haven't done it yet. ... We have some new ways we feel like we can support him this offseason, but it's going to take an organizational effort."
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Javier Báez sticks with Detroit Tigers with 4 years, $98M on contract
