Javy Báez reportedly signs multi-year deal with Tigers
Javy Báez will take his magic act to Detroit, ending any possibility of a reunion in Chicago.
“El Mago” has reportedly agreed to a six-year, $140 million contract with the Tigers, according to Detroit Free Press beat writer Evan Petzold:
Source: The #Tigers and free-agent shortstop Javier Baez have agreed to a six-year, $140 million contract. It’s happening.
— Evan Petzold (@EvanPetzold) November 30, 2021
Per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, the deal also includes an opt-out after two years and a limited no-trade clause:
Javier Báez’s six-year, $140 agreement with the Tigers includes an opt-out after two years and a limited no-trade clause allowing him to block deals to 10 teams each year, sources tell @TheAthletic. First to report news of the deal: @jonmorosi and @feinsand.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 30, 2021
Báez spent 10 years in the Cubs organization before he was traded to the Mets at the deadline in July. He emerged as one of the most exciting players in baseball during the 2016 World Series run and took his game to the next level in the years that followed.
Báez came in second in NL MVP voting in 2018 and earned a pair of All-Star bids in 2018-19. He took home his first Gold Glove in 2020 while turning in a stellar defensive season at shortstop.
All told, Báez accrued 21.6 WAR with the Cubs in eight seasons, hitting 140 home runs with a .777 OPS while playing second base, shortstop and third base.
He’ll turn 29 Wednesday and figures to lock down the middle of the field and batting order for an up-and-coming Tigers team over the next several years.