3 bad contracts the Detroit Tigers will regret having on the books this offseason

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There are a few teams in Major League Baseball that a fan could point at as a smart spender, or a big spender. Smart spenders include the Baltimore Orioles and the Atlanta Braves. Big spenders include the New York Mets and New York Yankees. There are some who are both, like the Texas Rangers and Philadelphia Phillies.

And then there are some who are neither, and the Detroit Tigers are one of those. That might be mean spirited, but it's hard to dispute; the Tigers were 20th in spending among MLB teams this year, and nearly 20% of their payroll went to the single most frustrating player in the major leagues. But more on that later.

Here are 3 contracts the Detroit Tigers will regret this offseason

In terms of building this offseason, it helps a lot that the whopping 26% of the payroll Miguel Cabrera occupied won't be a burden to the front office anymore. It's the perfect time to retain some of their exciting young players in arbitration as well as angle toward some of the many free agents available this year. Even so, they're still saddled by some pretty bad contract decisions. Try not to get too angry about these.

Javier Baez: 6 years, $140 million through 2027

There is simultaneously so much to say and nothing left to say about Javier Baez and his $140 million contract. Everyone knows how it goes at this point: beloved World Series winner gets traded away in service of a Chicago Cubs rebuild, only to struggle mightily with his new team, the New York Mets. Then, the Tigers scoop him up hoping that he'll show signs of his old greatness, only to end up shackled by a multimillionaire shortstop who finished the 2023 season with the worst OBP in the major leagues and became an internet meme because of it.

This is deeply maddening, to say the least. This year, Baez has an opt-out with four years and $98 million remaining, and there's little to no chance he'll take it when the likelihood of getting an even slightly comparable contract with any other team is slim to none. It would be ungenerous to say that Baez doesn't want to do better, but there is immense safety in making $23 million dollars in one year even if your final slash line is .222/.267/.325.

Tragically, It looks like the Tigers will be indebted to Baez until 2027, and there is very little goodwill or hope for him in the years ahead. It feels safe to say that the Javier Baez project will be one of the biggest busts not only in Tigers history, but in baseball history as a whole.

Eduardo Rodriguez: 5 years, $77,000,000 through 2026

Eduardo Rodriguez's inclusion here is not about the amount or the length, rather the fact that a player opt-out was written into his contract after only two years. Now that Miguel Cabrera is retired, E-Rod is easily the most exciting thing about the Tigers. He hit a real stride in 2023, pitching over 150 innings as Detroit's ace, with a final 3.30 ERA — the best in his career — 143 strikeouts, and only 48 walks.

He made a surprising choice this year, too, when he invoked his no-trade clause to block a trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He cited family reasons for the stay multiple times and hasn't budged from that explanation publicly, but vague rumors about the conditions of the deal, or about how much he likes or dislikes Los Angeles, have circulated that might point to something more.

Despite the real promise the Tigers have started to show, it's most likely that Rodriguez will opt out of his contract and move to a different team this offseason. This is especially true if he's given the opportunity to have more say in the terms of a move, and more time to prepare his family as opposed to the upheaval they would have faced with a midseason trade.

Spencer Turnbull: estimated increase to $2,400,000, up from $2,150,000

Pitcher Spencer Turnbull doesn't have a contract yet, and the Tigers shouldn't offer him one. MLB Trade Rumors projects Turnbull, who is arbitration eligible this year, to be the second most expensive arbitration player after Tarik Skubal. In fairness, his price is still relatively low at $2.4 million, but the Tigers still shouldn't pay it. After half of a great 2021 season, when he posted a 2.88 ERA over 50 innings and threw the eighth no hitter in Tigers history, he went down with a forearm strain that snowballed into requiring Tommy John surgery, which then caused him to miss all of 2022.

He made seven bad starts for the Tigers in 2023 and ended with a 7.26 ERA before being sent down to the minors, where he suffered a neck injury and went on the 60-day IL. Inviting Turnbull back and paying him $2.4 million to presumably go back and forth between the majors and Triple-A would be a mistake. It's disappointing; Turnbull had a lot of promise, but at this point seems too injury prone to keep on the payroll.

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