Following the observation on Friday night by beat journalists Chris McCosky and Evan Petzold that there was no locker for Baez in the visitor’s clubhouse at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, fans on social media started to conjecture that the Tigers might have officially parted company with him.
Fans frequently asked the question “DFA?” (designated for assignment) in the comments section of those blogs.
Simultaneously, Ryan Kreidler was called up to replace Baez on the playing roster. There was no formal explanation for a while.
However, the Tigers announced a few minutes later that Baez had been placed on the 10-day disabled list due to hip and lumbar pain.
With only 33 games left in the season, it’s doubtful whether Baez will be able to rejoin the Tigers.
But the Tigers aren’t giving up on the 31-year-old shortstop permanently, at least not just yet.
At this point, it always seemed improbable that the Tigers would DFA Baez. His six-year, $140 million contract is just halfway done, and he already owes $25 million for the upcoming season and $24 million for each of the next two.
However, a lot of supporters (rightfully so) think the Tigers should simply stop losing. The Tigers are currently paying one of the worst MLB players, Baez. They would be better off paying him to promise not to harm them physically every day.
With a.516 OPS and just six home runs this season, Baez is a -1.4 WAR player. His fielding statistics are also unremarkable.
Because of Trey Sweeney’s recent call-up (he was acquired at the deadline in the Jack Flaherty deal and mowed down shorts in Toledo), Tigers fans may have believed the organization was ready to move on.
Since being called up to the major leagues, Sweeney is just 2-for-14 with a home run and four strikeouts.
