Ahead of the 2016 season, Detroit signed Miguel Cabrera (40), the best hitter of the time, to a large eight-year, $240 million contract. Cabrera was the best player to win the American League Most Valuable Player (MVP) for two consecutive years in 2012 and 2013.
Until then, it was an inevitable choice to catch Cabrera. However, there was a prospect at the time that there would be restrictions on recruiting players in the future as one player ate a lot of team payroll. In fact, Detroit has never offered a contract at Cabrera’s level to any player since.
To make matters worse, his performance plummeted after Cabrera signed an extension. From 2016 to this year, in 768 games온라인바카라, he had a batting average of 0.273, 99 home runs, 404 RBIs, and an OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 0.766. His OPS during this period was only 8% better than league average. Detroit’s contract had its due, but as a result, it was not successful.
Cabrera’s contract with Detroit ends this year. But Detroit fans are shuddering at the possibility of another nightmare. This is because Javier Baez (31), one of the players the team has spent the most money on, is also likely to become a ‘disaster’.
Baes, who earned the nickname ‘Wizard’ for his splendid defense and one-shot, earned a reputation as the league’s top shortstop. In particular, in 2018, when he was a member of the Chicago Cubs, he recorded a batting average of 0.290, 34 homers, 111 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.881 in 160 games, and vomited his spirit to rise to second place in the American League MVP voting.
Detroit signed a six-year, $140 million (approximately 183.5 billion won) contract with Baez ahead of last season. However, Baez has not been able to live up to those expectations for the second year. Even if his 100 concessions and his contribution in defense are acknowledged, his annual salary is too small considering his offensive performance.
Baez stayed with a batting average of 0.238, 17 homers, 67 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.671 in 144 games last year. He had a lower OPS than league average. While he picked up 26 walks, he struck out a whopping 147. He wasn’t originally a player with a good starting pitcher and on-base percentage, but he’s been overly poor this year, and his overall scoring production has plummeted as the long hits that offset it have decreased.
He was said to be difficult to do worse than last year, but this year is even worse. In his first 11 games of the season, he had a batting average of just .100 and hit no home runs. He only has one RBI. His non-batting OPS is 0.263, which is last in the major leagues. There are too many misses on breaking pitches, and opposing pitchers are accurately targeting the analyzed weaknesses of Baez.
Baez has the right to opt-out (abandon the remaining contract and obtain FA status) after the 2023 season ends. However, with this performance, it is beneficial for Baes to fulfill all remaining contracts without opting out. On the other hand, this means that Detroit has another bad deal on the line. Detroit’s market prowess was once again put to the test.