The Tigers on Friday announced the signing of longtime Pirates shortstop Jordy Mercer to a one-year contract. The Scott Boras client will reportedly receive a $5.25MM guarantee as well as another $250K of available incentives. Today’s signing gives the Detroit organization a full 40-man roster.
“One of our priorities this offseason was to sign a shortstop, and Jordy is a solid addition to our ball club,” said GM Al Avila in a statement announcing the move. “He was one of the players we targeted heading into the offseason, and we’re really drawn to his consistency, both on the field at a premium position and in the clubhouse as a player that is a true veteran leader.”
The 32-year-old Mercer will be switching teams for the first time, as he has spent his entire professional career in the Pirates organization since Pittsburgh selected him in the third round of the 2008 draft. Mercer developed into an unspectacular but steady regular for the Bucs at shortstop, generating 7.6 fWAR and hitting .257/.317/.383 with 54 homers over 2928 plate appearances since the start of the 2013 season. Defensively, Mercer’s glovework has dipped below the average threshold over the past three seasons, as per Defensive Runs Saved (-19) and UZR/150 metrics.
Mercer represents just the type of veteran stopgap at shortstop at the Tigers were looking for this winter, as Jose Iglesias was heading into free agency. Youngsters Dawel Lugo, Willi Castro, and Isaac Paredes are all waiting in the wings as Detroit’s potential infielders of the future, so it could be a one-year relationship at most for Mercer and the Tigers. The club could even explore dealing Mercer at the trade deadline depending on how things play out. He’ll likely bring a bit more offense to the table than his predecessor, though it’s unlikely that he’ll match Iglesias’ sterling glovework.
Fancred Sports’ Jon Heyman reported the agreement between the two sides and Mercer’s salary (Twitter links). MLB.com’s Jon Morosi initially reported the talks between the two sides as well as the one-year term of the contract (Twitter links).
Does this mean they won’t sign tulowitzki?
probably, though Avila already said the odds were low of a Tulo signing anyway
Doubting anyone really thinking of signing Tulo unless he can show he has no issues with his feet any longer. If he can’t move, it is of no value to sign him . If the Jays (who have all of the medicals on Tulo and have seen him rehab) believe he was not even worth to bring to camp and see if he could work himself back enough to make any kind of a trade possible by eating most of his salary just to try to salvage anything on Tulo’s salary, not thinking that he is worth the effort.
Tulo is a club house negative Nancy. Please keep him out of the rebuilding club’s lineup. Don’t need youngsters learning poor habits early.
Detroit is rebuilding?
Don’t be a smart add
You know what I meant
I’m guessing one year and about 4-5 mil
I’m guessing 5.25 mil at 1 year with 250 k in incentives;) just guessing tho
Well played
I guess this will do nicely for the Tigers
How? He will make zero difference. They’ll still lose 90+ games.
Well, someone has to play SS
My grandmother throws harder than Mercer across the diamond..
She’s got a cannon for an older woman.
Actually, Mercer has a *very* good arm – it’s his range that has declined.
Is her name Ozzie?
That’s probably what he means, it’s irrelevant.
Thanks, Cop! Stu Baron seems a might edgy today. Must be those red glasses!
I think cops comment was aimed at me… I was the one kinda standing up for you. Lol no worries though 🙂
gah sorry Brandon. This site’s comment system is so whack.
Haha I was only teasing you! No apology needed 🙂
They are constructed to lose 90+ in a league with competitive balance but since that one of 20 teams tanking, their record won’t look too bad.
Jordy Mercer! Great signing! Home runs are ruining the integrity o the game. Jordy Mercer hits none of them. Plays small ball like a world champ!
Jordy only hit 6 last season, but he hit 14 in 2017 and 11 in 2016. That’s not bad for someone who supposedly can’t hit homers.
Nice get for Detroit. Feel like maybe he could have held out longer for a contender, but hey, maybe he doesn’t care about winning!
As a Tiger fan, I’m glad we got him instead of Alcides.
maybe he wants an everyday job, and doesn’t want to get to Feb wondering why he doesn’t have a job. smart move for both team and player.
Joining a team that will win regardless of whether you are there or not does not mean you care about winning. It means you are selfish and don’t really feel the need to contribute in a meaningful way.
Signing now for a team team like the Tigers gives himself a chance to get moved to a contender at the deadline if he plays well and a contender needs a middle infielder for the stretch run.
I’m just glad that this means Jordy isn’t coming back to Pittsburgh. He’s a decent enough player, but he was starting to cost more than he is now worth. He’s OK at a lot of things, but he’s gotten less reliable in the field than what I think the Bucs are looking for, especially since the not always surehanded Adam Frazier is going to play 2B.
range wasn’t there, but he was very surehanded… I didn’t think he was coming back, but I’m very uneasy about SS in 2019. I think Tucker is going to be a stud, but that’s 2020 at the earliest.
I agree with all of that. Mercer has become a lot like Neil Walker in the field: handled everything he got to, but he started to not get to as many as he used to. They pretty much have to sign a vet to get them by for a year or 2, but it didn’t have to be Jordy.
I would like a reunion with Hechavarria or them sign Iglesias as a stop gap to Tucker, or until one of Kramer/Newman proves they belong in the show. Both can play SS
Hechevarria would be just fine with me too. He was a better all around player than I had been led to believe. Iglesias would be a great get but I have doubts the Bucs will want to meet his price, and also wonder whether he might want a job somewhere where he isn’t just filling the spot until a rookie is ready.
Just now hearing it’s $5.25 million for one year plus $250k in incentives.
Good Luck Jordy! Detroit got a great guy.
Maybe not an all star player but hes a good clubhouse guy.
Oh, cool! As long as he’s a “good clubhouse guy.”
Seems like an unnecessary overpay. Mercer likely has no trade value, and detroit isn’t going to win anything. Why not wait the market out and just take the last desperate free agent at a nothing cost?
Ya gotta agree there. Mercer’s not bad….he’s not especially good either. And the defense has deteriorated over the past couple of years.
I would think Hechiaveria is the best cost/performance guy out there at SS….
Having seen both play with the Bucs last year, I too am a little surprised that Mercer has a job before Hechevarria. Adeiny was frankly the better and more consistent shortstop of the 2, certainly in the field and st times with the bat too. I’m hoping Hechavarria comes back to Pittsburgh for a few dollars less than what Jordy would have cost, and it might just happen.
I guess Manny will be playing 3rd for the Tigers next April, then.
Manny will be playing in some other city, dude.
As bad as the team was last season, there were always highlight reel defensive plays by Iglesias to keep you coming back… I will miss that stellar defense at SS, and so will the pitching staff. I think Iglesias’ defensive value saved the staff’s ERA’s from far worse depths… Mercer is barely replacement level and at 32 isn’t going to get any better… this is a very disappointing move by the Tigers, who will probably be worse this season than they were in 2018. I see 105 losses on the horizon, especially after they unload Castellanos and Boyd, who is their best pitcher. The saddest part of all of this – aside from Mize, and pitchers are so iffy, there really is nothing on the farm to be that excited about. Unfortunately, the Tigers are going to play terrible baseball for years to come.
I wouldn’t be so down on their pitching. True, besides Mize (maybe), they’re all low ceiling, high floor types, but I’m pretty sure Manning, Burroughs and Feado all pitch in the majors, if only at the back. And Mize can be very, very good. The positional player base is not at all bad.
Hey, kudos to DD for the World Series; that’s what they pay you to do. But the guy never met a farm system he couldn’t destroy. The Tigers were in a HUGE hole, but they’ve come back pretty quickly. The Royals are miles away, and the White Sox are just (sorry to say it),. confused.
It’s not all ugly in Detroit.
It is of no consolation to be in a perceived “less worse” position than Chicago or KC, especially when the Tigers organization as a whole is still destitute of legit talent.
As much as I’d like to believe it’s not all ugly in Detroit… it is all ugly in Detroit.
Who else thinks this whole “rebuilding” idea is a load of crap that is being sold to you? And many have bought into it, as if there was no other alternative for the billionaires who own the club.
If ownership really wanted to turn the team around, they could by adding payroll and bringing in some real players, but they aren’t. There’s plenty of free agent talent that could be had to turn this team into a winner this season, but the Illitch’s are cheap and greedy – they are thinking only about profit margins on a year to year basis, when in reality, in the bigger picture, they could lose money every season but still increase the value of the franchise by more than enough to offset it. This run of terrible baseball we will have to endure here will be because of cheapskate ownership, plain and simple.
Really?! “…the Illitch’s are cheap…” Are you new in town? Mike Illitch never looked at the bottom line right up to his passing. Sure, another family member is in charge now, but considering where the team is, and how many holes they have to fill, now is not the time to spend. Let’s wait for some of the prospects to show they’re real, first.
Mike Illitch is no longer involved the team last I checked…
And there is never a better time than the present to spend… I want to see a winner in my lifetime, and with each season that passes, those chances are reduced. Besides, who really wants to see us field what could be one of the worst teams in the history of the franchise this upcoming season? I mean, 2003 was such a pleasure for all of us, right?
You can’t sit on your hands waiting for prospects to develop, not when you’re running an empire, or at the very least, should be running an empire. You deal with those types of contingencies as they become realities.
The Tigers “mortgaged their future…” trying to win a ring. This is the future.
Even though the Tigers are rebuilding, they won’t catch lightning from unproven youth when they’re acquiring proven mediocre veterans.
@a761506
Did you miss my mention of another family member being in charge?
2003 was not a pleasure, but the Tigers are in better position now then they were then. What they did then, got them to the WS in three years. Not too bad for a rebuild. Spending in 2003 would have cost them that high pick that ended up being Verlander.. Teams have ups and downs. That’s the nature of the sport. Though it did not end up with a championship, the Illitches gave the Detroit Fans 10 year of contention. Lets see if Houston or the Cubs do as well..
The 2006 team was built on free agency. It started in 2004 where they signed Pudge and traded for Guillen. The next year they signed Magglio and traded for Polanco. Then they signed Rogers… They had a couple farm hands make contributions in Verlander and Granderson, but the major work was done through free agency.
The guys we signed this year are not in that same league as Pudge, Magglio and Rogers.
If we were building like we did then, we would have signed Grandall and traded for Segura. Next year we’d sign Aaron Hicks and trade for Kolton Wong. Then we’d sign Verlander and with a coupe prospects and a bunch of retreads filling the other holes, we’d go to the world series.
The farm is getting ugly in Boston, though.
The players DD traded from the Tigers never really amounted to much. It took years before Andrew Miller became a good player. Probably benefited from real coaching which he never would have gotten in the Tiger system. Maybin? Suarez? Knebel? Who else?
It’s called a rebuild. Farm systems aren’t rebuilt overnight.
This years lineup has Jordy Mercer, Nikko Goodrum, Greyson Griener, Jacoby Jones, and Mikie Mahtook. The ownership is going all in on a last place finish. And don’t blame it on not having any money… they just signed Mercer for 5 mil… Ross for 5 mil… they could have gotten better value from rule 5 guys.
Mercer will likely have more flip value than Hech or Escobar since neither if thise guys can hit a lick.
We all expected 2019 to be a nightmare, so lets trade Castellanos, hooe that Fulmer lights it up for a huge flip in late July and wait out Zimmermans ridiculous deal and the Fat Prince’s dead money train…
For sure though they need 2 more star quality hitter prospects, preferably at 1b for one of them.
Or, is it the dead Prince’s fat money?
a76 says the problem is cheapskate ownership. That must be it. The Ilitch family NEVER overspent on player contracts. If they had, we’d likely still be paying dead money for bad contracts and be stuck with an ineffective aging pitcher making 25 mil or a 1B/DH over 35 yrs old making 30 mil for a few more years. Dang, then we’d really be in trouble.
Chris Illitch is not his father. The fact that they non-tendered Alex Wilson lends credence to the possibility that Chris Illitch runs a different ship.
Alex Wilson in the pen trumps Matt Moore starting any day, especially with the state of our relievers. Even if it was for $500k more. I would take Ronny Rodriguez/Dawel Lugo at short over jordy Mercer if it meant keeping Wilson.
Alex Wilson is not a difference maker. I expect when he signs, it will be for less than he would have made in Detroit. He was good at whaT he did. Its just thats not something you want to pay for.
Mmk that still beats the signing of Matt Moore
Unreal overpay for a below average ss….could have waited to sign anybody later for half the price….just like Ross another overpay…I cant wait for the Tigers to be sold…Avila is a nice guy and doing his best…But we need a real GM moving forward……. this is a hundred loss team for the next 2 years…maybe by 2021 we will new ownership….. and most of the minor league propects should be up playing in the majors….. maybe a 75-80 win team then……
You do realize there are absolutely no reports of the team being for sale?
There were rumors of Dan Gilbert (Cavaliers owner) buying the team.
Man…relax. We are paying for the sins of the father right now. How’d did you not see this coming? It’s going to take a few years like it does for any team not named the Yankees. Appreciate what we had, understand this is the cost for that and just enjoy the ride back up. AA has made some shrewd moves that have panned out more than bad moves that have not.
It’s only two bad contracts and they’re really not that bad. A starting pitcher that was a little below league average but is improving after injury. A 1B that has been MVP material up until he was injured in 2017. He was making a comeback last year and he blew out a bicep. Freak injury. He should be ready for 2019.
$55 mil for 2 players is a lot, but that leaves a bunch of money to build a decent team. If they wanted to. Chris Illich obviously doesn’t want to.
AA doing the job. Tigers rock!
Wish they waited another day, maybe we could of landed Richie Martin in the rule 5 draft.
And maybe they still will. Cant see Jordy blocking anyone. Its not like Martin would start.
They could have traded for Richie Martin…. A’s got nothing for him. Send them a relief pitcher or a younger prospect that didn’t need rule 5 protection. I bet they would have taken anything.
I like this
Don’t forget to thank USA Today for the photo caption Mark……
Not a ton of competition for his services…..probably an overpay. Mercer does everything very average….nice consistency but rarely spectacular.
Jordy Mercer is still a decent major league shortstop and a good veteran to have on a young team,He is a decent hitter,has sure hands,and a good arm.Unfortunately,his range,which was never great,has lessened,and therein lies his biggest weakness.I think that the Pirates are looking for that in his replacement.I do not think that this is a bad deal for the Tigers.I doubt that he can be traded at the deadline as I would have thought that the Pirates would have tried to do that this year with no success.I do agree though that this is the absolute upper limit that I would have paid him.
A lot of people slurping up that “rebuild” Kool-Aid…
There is no winning in baseball without free agency. You get what you pay for, and when you aren’t willing to pay, you get the trash team we’re about to run out there in 2019 that is going to be utterly terrible.
The Illitch family is estimated to be worth over $6 billion… anyone here trying to convince me or anyone else that they can’t afford to put a better product on the field that has a fair chance at being a winner has been sold a bridge. The farm rebuilding is nonsense… Mize is the only guy who has the talent to develop into a star. Who really gets excited about signing a mediocre guy who they are already speculating about flipping mid-season for some mediocre prospects? The only way to win in baseball is to have talent, and talent costs money, which means owners who want to win need to spend. Maybe it’s cheapness, maybe it’s greed, maybe Chris Illitch feels the need to prove something to his dead father that he can run a business like a slum-lord and suck out as much profit as possible, but whatever it is, the whole situation sucks and no one should think it’s just how things go when things don’t work out. When things dont’ work out, you fix them. You spend more money to fix them. $6 billion and you can’t take it with you… spend it you cheap f-ck!!! Sign Machado and build the team around him. Go get a real catcher, Get a legit 1B. Trade Castellanos and get a couple legit OF’s. Seriously, turn this franchise around. The playoffs are mostly luck anyways once you’re in, the sample size is too small to predict anything.
If I were Illich, I’d sign Grandall and 2B Murphy. I’d also try and get Moustakas for third and move Candelerio to first and be backup at third. I’d also try and get Mallex Smith from the Mariners… if not him then Some other leadoff hitting CF.
CF
RF Nick
2B Murphy
DH Miggy
C Grandall
3B Moose
1B Candelario
LF Stewart
SS Mercer
The dude has a way with cows and missed all of August because of caring for his personal calves. No one in the majors made that sacrifice. He is a humanitarian above all.