The Tigers are closing in on a deal with free-agent outfielder Nomar Mazara, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports. It’s a major league contract that will pay Mazara $1.75MM plus incentives, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network.
Mazara was a much-ballyhooed prospect in his younger days, as he entered the pro ranks with a whopping $5MM bonus from the Rangers when he signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2011. He topped out as Baseball America’s No. 21 overall prospect in 2016, when he debuted in the majors and played his age-21 season. Mazara got off to a nice start then relative to age, hitting .266/.320/.419 with 20 home runs in 568 plate appearances, but hasn’t progressed much since then.
From 2017-19 as a Ranger, Mazara hit .259/.320/.440 with 59 homers and just 1.2 fWAR across 1,621 trips to the plate. The Rangers decided to part with Mazara after the last of those seasons, sending him to the White Sox for outfield prospect Steele Walker prior to 2020.
Chicago was obviously hoping the proverbial light bulb would go on for Mazara in its uniform, but that didn’t happen. He wound up slashing a disastrous .228/.295/.294 with a single HR and a microscopic .066 isolated power number in 149 PA. The White Sox saw enough and elected to non-tender Mazara in lieu of paying him a projected $5MM-plus in arbitration in 2021.
Mazara is still only 25, so the Tigers will follow the division-rival White Sox in hoping he’ll be able to tap into his potential sometime soon. The left-handed-hitting Mazara has typically had a terrible time against same-handed pitchers, though he has offered league-average offense versus righties. He could at least emerge in Detroit as a platoon partner for fellow corner outfielder Victor Reyes, who has had trouble against righties during his career.
Mazara’s a bust why bother?
No risk flyer who had decent numbers in Texas
Assuming it’s a NRI/MiLB deal
Wow it’s actually a guarantee deal
It’s the tigers bro
Mazara’s a bust
why bother?
No risk flyer who had decent numbers in Texas
Assuming it’s a NRI/MiLB deal
Wow it’s actually a guarantee deal
It’s the Tigers bro
Says the guy with zero pro baseball experience
Steve
Absolutely underrated comment right there, well done.
Uh… how is Mazara useful to this team?
Scratch that, any team?
Their 4th OFer right now is Akil Baddoo who, 80 grade name aside, is probably not the ideal candidate to break camp with the team.
Badoo is the fifth. Stewart or Cameron are 4th OF
Stewart will be released and Cameron is not ready.
Not like the Tigers are going anywhere fast this year. They do have a lot of young pitchers in the system, but they’ll all probably get way more playing time in 2022. Why not take a chance and see what happens?
Beats Christian Stewart
Uh, he averaged 20hr and 80rbi prior to last season and is only 25.
20 home runs isn’t anything impressive anymore plus he was a below average hitter his entire time with the Rangers.
It’s better than what we had. Those totals were over 500ab suggesting he could have more playing everyday.
The guy has potential and is still young but has scuffled. For a team like the Tigers it’s a good bet – not a lot lost if he’s a bust as they weren’t going to compete anyway, but if he performs they can flip him for prospects. Sound low-risk move IMO.
He has left handed power…. wait 1HR? He makes good contact…. wait .220 avg? He reminds me of a poor defensive version of Jason Heyward… I would say that if he isn’t hitting, then he doesn’t belong on MLB team.
Yes, only 2020 matters. Let’s forget the 4 years prior.
It’s the Tigers bro
Let’s remember the 4years prior and forget 2020. Mazarra should be getting better with age, but for a guy who’s only asset is power he had 1HR
Do you have anything insightful to say or is “it’s the tigers bro” the best you can come up with?
you just contradicted yourself. It was a covid year on a new team. Last I checked, the guy is human and humans sometimes regress sometimes. Had he been regressing for a few years and was seeking a higher salary you would have a point. The bottom line is that he’s had 4 20hr seasons before age 25. He also hit a 505 ft home run; you don’t do that unless you have talent. At 1.75, there’s virtually no risk with a lot of upside. Apparently, to you, he suddenly lost his power at age 25 and not worth the money. Genius.
Texas saw enough in the prior 4 years, they gave up on him. Last year proved them right.
Good move. Possible trade deadline canidate if he has a good first half
Mr. 505 foot homer
The extent of the White Sox’s scouting on Mazara was watching him hit that bomb against Reynaldo López. Then Rick Hahn said, “We gotta get this guy!”
Grossman, Reyes, Mazara as the starting OF with Jones and Stewart as the 4th and 5th OFs?
I would rather have JaCoby Jones start oer Mazara
JaCoby is the starting CF and no risk of losing the job if he stays healthy.
If
Would love to see a full year out of Jones.
I honestly think there are AAA teams with better starting OFs than that.
Bollyhoo
Fine, I’ll do it: “No-ma’!”
Sacrilege
What team has completed the most transactions this offseason?
Texas White Sox or San Diego
NOT Toronto
The Big Nil
Fodder for Toledo. Bad defense, doesn’t walk. Would rather claim Fisher.
Derek? Great 3 or shooter.
lol
Grossman/Jones/Mazara more likely. Reyes can serve as 4th Outfielder since he can play all three spots. Mazara is still too young to give up on, he’s been productive and can be again
He was a much better hitter in the last half of September and in the Wild Card round. His approach at the plate looked much, MUCH better.
As someone who never saw a ton of him before 2020, but saw almost his whole 2020 season, I wanted a non-tender and re-sign. Unfortunately, that happened with the wrong White Sox player. IMO (Rodon).
Similar things were muttered when the same team took a low-risk chance on JD Martinez. Ya never know.
Mazara is still very young. I do believe he will become a very good hitter over the next few years and will probably sustain it into his mid 30s
I bet age 28-33 he’s a stud.
He’s not that far off from being able to hit .275/.345/.470 35 HR 90-100 RBI
I like the move. Expected this to happen all off season. We need a lefty outfielder, and he is still young. Atrocious last year is putting it lightly, but if he can regain his 20 HR power he’d easily be the best power hitting outfielder we have. Jones in CF, Reyes LF and Mazara in RF doesn’t sound so bad really. And I know he hasn’t played 1B, but he’s a 6’4 lefty, I feel confident he could learn to play first base as well, which would fill multiple needs on the team. One year deals carry no real risk, so why not give him a chance to prove he can still play. Hopefully Stewart is on his way out now. Possibly Schreiber. Both need to go eventually.
I LOVE this move for only 1.75m. He’s only 25 and averaged 20hr and 80rbi all the seasons prior. I don’t think Reyes is an everyday player and Stewart just isn’t a Mlb player, while Cameron isn’t ready. He also is a much needed left handed bat.
I’m not a big fan of Avila, but I really like his last 3 moves of getting Schoop, Nunez, and Mazara at bargain prices. All of the sudden, we have a potentially good lineup.
Grossman
Castro
Cabrera
Schoop
Paredes
Nunez
Mazara
Ramos
Jones
Yes, a lot will have to go well, but this is the best lineup we’ve had in 5 years.
No Candelario?
I meant Candalario over Paredes. I think Paredes needs more time to develop.
No it’s not. It’s a crap lineup. You’ll be lucky if you come any place other than last in the central.
@Moneyballer it might be a crap lineup but have you actually seen what they’ve put on the field in the last five years? It’s an exponentially better brand of crap than the 114-loss or the two 98-loss teams fielded. Yes, they likely will finish last in the Central, but with maybe 95 losses. Don’t forget the 114 loss team was in 2019, the last full season played. I don’t think MoTownTigers is very far off base. If they lose “only” 94 games, that’s a 20 game improvement and with the youngsters on their way, the light could be at the end of the tunnel regarding the rebuild.
Only.lost 94, we see the light at the end of the tunnel……
How did it ever come to this?
@RnR Pfeifer read what I wrote, not what you want to read into it.
You’re right. It’s worse than I read. Imagining there’s a light at the end of a tunnel….. inspiration.
But the Tiger prospects are good. We get one top prospect a year. In 9 years, strategy says we will have a team? I’m hopeful. Go Tigers! Go Al!
He’s not been proactive but I guess he would rather just have a job. A lot of that going around these days….. integrity? Who cares?!?!
I like Al. He is a baseball professional and a good one. I’m jealous.
This is why I hate rebuilds. The Tigers are back to being horrific and not spending money. It wasn’t that long ago that traded for Davis Price to be their #3 starter! Now they get Rex Grossman…oooh. How about signing real players and competing?
I said potentially good lineup, not good lineup.If you don’t think it has potential, you don’t know baseball. 3 players have had 100 rbi in a season with another having 90. In addition, you have 2 young players who had great offensive numbers last year, 2 solid vets, and Jones.
It’s the Tigers bro
So who gets cut? Why cut Christin Stewart to sign Mazara?
Because Mazara has at least proven to be a decent hitter at the MLB level in the past. Stewart looks outmatched every time he bats. Horrendous defense, with lack of contact, and no power production are bad traits to have if you want to stick around on a team.
Personally i would have cut Christin Stewart after that god awful “Charlie’s Angels” reboot…
Beat me to it
You just can’t try to be as bad a GM as Al Avila is can you?
Glad this guy is sticking around the AL Central but not on my team lol.
JD Martinez type of pick up. Lighting in a bottle or out of baseball in the next year.
Mazara can hit RHP. Never start him against lefties and he is capable of being productive. At that price on that squad it’s not a bad signing.
Nice signing Tigers. They needed an outfielder, and he will most likely hit 4th or 5th on this team. He’s still young, I’d be happy about it if I were a Tigers fan.
Solid signing, low money so if he doesn’t produce they can cut him lose, no problem.
It’s always really REALLY silly to write off anyone under 30. All players who actually reach MLB but aren’t successful are usually only one minor tweak away from breaking out, ala Justin Turner, Max Muncy, Donny Solano etc etc theres new ones every year.
Any pro athlete aged 25-30 who is struggling is always so close to getting there, to see supposed “fans” so quick to call “bust” as if they win something for saying it, really proves pro sports are becoming games for misers only, with no joy ever allowed and whoever gets to the bottom of the barrel first “wins” the likes and reactions and whatnot. Shame, we should have never bought the players down to our level via social media too. We (players and fans) are not the same, but so many fans act like we all are.
He’s only “insert age” has been said about him and many other busts for years, usually means they have unfulfilled potential…. and getting older
Stewart still has some minor league options so he’ll be at Toledo. Long term however Stewart will be a star…….in the KBO
Brewers? Cheap money compared to the crap the boy wonder signed last year.
I think it’s possible that at some point Mazara is going to surprise everyone and really have a breakout season. I could be wrong but people forget that he is still pretty young. And while he never really put up great numbers he was consistently hitting 20 HR in his early 20s A lot of guys are still in A/AA at that point in their careers. To me I just think he has such amazing raw power that he could wind up being one of those lage blooming power hitters like Encarnacion or Nelson Cruz. But like I said… I could be wrong. He could also just really be what he has been and never really put all the pieces together to take take next step. Bur for $1.75M I definitely think he’s a gamble worth taking.
Lets assume he has a good year. So what? He’ll be a FA again and playing else where. Maybe they trade him for the next Dawel Lugo. In the meantime, the young OFs they have control on, lose a year of development.
For 1.75 it’s amazing for Detroit. Best move they’ve made yet this off-season.
Nelson – Ha Ha
I would rather have them sign Billy “Lightning Shoes” Hamilton. He could have been this generation’s Milt Cuyler for the 2021 Tigers. Oh well Nomar reminiscing for me.
Milt Cuyler. Now there’s a name i haven’t heard in a long time. Decent rookie year in 1991 and was basically garbage after. The Red Sox had him for a stretch in ’96
Gary Pettis says hi
I think if they release Stewart, it will be a mistake. He has basically only had a rookie season in the pros and very few guys light it up right away, and you can’t base much on only 99PA’s in 2020. I feel like he still has tremendous potential to be a solid hitter with only slightly below average defense.
He’s 27. Generally, if you haven’t done anything by that age, you won’t. He’s a very, very bad defender. You also can keep 40 guys on the roster. If he clears waivers, fine, but you can’t waste a spot on him and risk losing a better prospect.
I sure hope Avila disagrees with u
I like Al. He’s a good guy.
Mazara just needs confidence and those around him to have the confidence in him. Big prospect brought up and hits 20 hr a yea like clock work. Poor defense but the bat potential is there. 1 HR last year is the product of his lack of confidence. The white Sox have so many prospects he never had a chance there. He still has the ability to be an all star.
The remaining free agent OF’s have been flying off the board in the past few days leading up to pitchers and catchers reporting next week. This includes players being signed to MLB contracts like Nomar Mazara and minor league ones with a non-roster invite like Jon Jay.
The White Sox are running out of my favorite options including the just concluded trade that saw Andrew Benintendi land with the division rival Royals. That said, Yasiel Puig has still not signed so I’ll keep my fingers crossed unless Rick, Jerry, Jed and Tom shock us all with a trade involving Kris Bryant.
Well, I think Al is such a great GM, he could probably sweet talk the Cubs into trading some Soto Candy Short for some Kimmy money and their top outfield and pitching prospects, maybe.
He’s such a great GM, he should give it a try!
Marquez Roederer Franklin are all supposed to be good….. Just because someone is an idiot, that doesn’t make the rest of you smart……
I like the idea of 8 top pitchers! Go Tigers!
Benintendi? Puig? Is this Kenny Williams’ burner account? Kenny we can see you hiding in there. Stop pretending and let Rick do his job
There are a whole lot of White Sox fans out there who believe the team would benefit from another bat in their lineup that could mash RHP and provide better LF defense than injury prone Eloy Jimenez has on the grass thus far. Benintendi fits that and more with his youth, athleticism and high contact bat as would Puig with his athletic ability, an arm that could also play RF along his moderate reverse splits that hits RHP better than southpaws but also hits LHP better than current RF Adam Eaton.
Most of us are also buying into Andrew Vaughn making his MLB debut at some point this season, mostly at DH, which is why a shorter term deal for that extra bat might be preferred, unless of course it was for a player like Kris Bryant would could easily be viewed as the White Sox long term answer as a future corner outfielder.
The White Sox are rolling with Jimenez/Robert/Eaton/Engle/L.Garcia as the Outfield group. They could certainly use another LH hitter though. Choo to DH and play some occasional OF wouldn’t be a bad deal.
At this point in time that is likely the plan. That said, the front office will continue monitoring the trade market for any substantial upgrades in their starting rotation (German Marquez, Luis Castillo, etc.) along with potentially finding a long term core corner outfielder, be it in RF or LF depending on how much progress Eloy Jimenez can demonstrate on the grass this year.
Thus far, Jimenez has been among the worst defenders in LF and continues to find ways to injure himself along the way. The White Sox need his bat in their lineup everyday and if that means as their future DH, then so be it, although that creates a problem as well with 1B’s Jose Abreu and Andrew Vaughn down the road. This potential logjam is why the team has been looking at making Vaughn more versatile with some reps at 3B and in the OF. Jimenez would also be a potential candidate at 1B just based on his height.
Did AJ Hinch think there would be a significant attempt at trying this season, or did he know the full extent of the ongoing Ilitch restraint on roster?
This signing surely doesn’t hurt by putting some measure of talent out there, but Mike’s son still isn’t trying.
I think they have been trying but have been consistently rejected by free agents who prefer to sign elsewhere. For two years they have been reported to be after Jason Castro as a top target, then checked down to Romine and now Ramos,. They lost out on Kevin Pillar who supposedly was ready to sign until the Sox traded Betts. They checked down to Maybin. They were reportedly interested in Kolten Wong this year, a and even Marwin Gonzales before “checking down” to Schoop. Hinch has said they have been in on guys that have not even been reported.
The Tigers are saddled with pretty lousy team, a city in decline, a park that punishes hitters, and a manager with baggage. Hardly a surprise they are settling for the bottom of the market.
Detroit’s a city in decline?
So they’ve be upgraded?
Another good signing with nothing but upside. If nothing else these guys who signed this week are good-looking stopgaps. Team has hope and could be very exciting. Stewart won’t be there, Demerritte is gone, Jones and Goodrum are next. This year we should see four of the ballyhooed pitchers, and Faedo in ‘22. Waiting on Greene and Torkelson!
Plus they have the third overall pick in the draft this year plus 2 more of the next 35 so they’ll be drafting 3 of the top 38 available players. More talent for the system and future looks bright for our Tigers!