The top free agent storyline of each of the past two offseasons was the respective star-studded shortstop classes. In 2021-22, it was Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Trevor Story and Javier Báez. Last winter, Correa was back on the market again, joined by Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts and Dansby Swanson.
Next winter’s group was never going to rival that previous collection. The class in general is very light on star position player talent beyond Shohei Ohtani. It’s particularly barren up the middle of the diamond. It’s hard to imagine a more complete 180° turn than how things appear to be trending with the shortstop class, though. Virtually everyone involved is off to a very slow start.
The early-season performances from the impending free agents at the position:
Amed Rosario (28)*
While Rosario is not the superstar some evaluators had anticipated during his time in the Mets’ farm system, he’d been a solid regular for two seasons since landing in Cleveland in the Francisco Lindor blockbuster. Rosario’s solid batting averages helped offset his very low walk tallies. He hit 25+ doubles with double-digit homers in both 2021-22, playing on a near everyday basis. His cumulative .282/.316/.406 batting line was almost exactly league average. Public metrics were mixed on Rosario’s defense but the Guardians have been content to keep him at shortstop despite plenty of upper minors infield talent. Only 27 and without a ton of market competition, he entered the year in position for a strong three or four-year contract.
That could still be the case but Rosario is doing himself no favors with his early performance. He’s sitting on a .217/.262/.300 showing through his first 130 plate appearances. He has just one homer and is striking out at a 29.2% clip that’d easily be the worst full-season mark of his career if it holds. After making contact on 81.3% of his swings last season, he’s putting the bat on the ball only 71.5% of the time this year. He’s also committed six errors in 255 1/3 innings after being charged with just 12 in more than 1200 frames last year. Rosario is still the top impending free agent shortstop by default but he’s struggling in all areas right now.
Javier Báez (31), can opt out of final four years and $98MM on his contract
Báez is hitting .256/.318/.376 through his first 130 plate appearances. That’s an improvement over the lackluster .238/.278/.393 line he managed during his first season in Detroit. His 16.2% strikeout rate is the lowest of his career, pushing his overall offense near league average in spite of just three home runs in 32 games. Báez’s 2023 campaign has been fine but hardly overwhelming. It’s nowhere near what it’d take for him to beat the $98MM remaining on his existing contract. He’d need a torrid summer to put himself in position to test free agency.
Enrique Hernández (32)
Hernández has been pushed into primary shortstop duty by the Red Sox’ various injuries. The early reviews from public defensive metrics aren’t favorable, with Statcast putting him at seven outs below average in 199 innings. Hernández is off to an equally slow start at the plate. He’s hitting .236/.295/.362 over 139 plate appearances on the heels of a .222/.291/.338 showing last year. He’s been a valuable super-utility option and everyday center fielder at times in his career, including a 20-homer campaign in 2021. The past year-plus hasn’t been especially impressive, though, and Hernández has yet to demonstrate he’s capable of handling shortstop regularly from a defensive standpoint.
Brandon Crawford (37)
The career-long Giant had a tough April on both sides of the ball. He’s hitting .169/.244/.352 with a personal-high 28.2% strikeout rate in 21 games. His defensive marks through 173 2/3 innings are unanimously below-average. A right calf strain sent him to the injured list last week. Even if Crawford is willing to explore all opportunities next winter after 13 seasons in San Francisco, he’ll need much better production once he returns from the IL to find any interest as a starting shortstop.
Elvis Andrus (35)
Much of what applies to Crawford is also true for Andrus. He’s a 15-year MLB veteran with a couple All-Star appearances to his name but his offense has fallen off in recent seasons. Andrus was a well below-average hitter from 2018-21. He rebounded with a solid .249/.303/.404 showing last season but still didn’t generate much free agent attention. After settling for a $3MM deal with the White Sox, he’s hitting only .208/.291/.264 in 142 plate appearances this year. Andrus hit 17 homers last season but has just one through the first six weeks.
Nick Ahmed (34)
Another glove-first veteran, Ahmed is also off to a rough start at the plate. He carries a .227/.239/.318 line over 67 plate appearances. He’s hit only one home run and walked just once. Ahmed has always been a bottom-of-the-lineup defensive specialist, but his career .235/.289/.380 slash is much more tenable than the production he’s managed thus far in 2023. He lost almost all of last season to shoulder surgery.
Gio Urshela (32)
Urshela is hitting plenty of singles to start his time in Orange County. His .303 batting average is impressive but is paired with just a .325 on-base percentage and .345 slugging mark. He’s walking at a career-low 3.3% clip and has only three extra-base hits (two doubles and a homer) in 123 plate appearances.
More concerning for teams looking to the shortstop market is Urshela’s lack of experience at the position. He’s been a third baseman for the majority of his career. Since landing with the Angels, he’s assumed a multi-positional infield role that has given him eight-plus starts at shortstop and both corner infield spots. Even if he starts hitting for more power, he’s better deployed as a versatile infielder who can moonlight at shortstop than an everyday solution there.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa (28)
Kiner-Falefa lost his starting shortstop role with the Yankees towards the end of last season. He’s been kicked into a multi-positional capacity this year and hasn’t logged a single inning at the position in 2023. While Kiner-Falefa presumably could still handle shortstop if asked, he’s contributed nothing offensively in the early going. Through 72 plate appearances, he owns a .191/.225/.206 line.
Adalberto Mondesí (28)
Mondesí is young and has flashed tantalizing tools throughout his major league career. He’s also reached base at a meager .280 clip over 358 MLB games and battled various injuries. An April 2022 ACL tear cut that season short after just 15 games. The Red Sox nevertheless acquired him from the Royals over the offseason, but he’s yet to play a game with Boston. Mondesí opened the season on the 60-day injured list and won’t make his Sox debut until at least the end of this month. There’s a chance for him to play his way into some free agent interest. He’ll need an extended stretch of health and performance.
Players With Club Options
Both Tim Anderson and Paul DeJong can hit free agency if the White Sox and Cardinals decline respective 2024 club options. That seems likely in DeJong’s case but is reflective of the .196/.280/.351 line he managed between 2020-22. If he plays well enough to warrant significant free agent interest — he has been excellent in 11 games this season, to his credit — the Cardinals would exercise their $12.5MM option and keep him off the market anyhow.
The White Sox hold a $14MM option on Anderson’s services. That looks as if it’ll be a no-brainer for Chicago to keep him around (or exercise and make him available in trade). The only way Anderson gets to free agency is if his 2023 season is decimated by injury or an uncharacteristic performance drop-off, in which case he’d be a question mark as well.
Outlook
This was never going to be a great group. It’s comprised largely of glove-first veterans in their mid-30s. Players like Andrus, Ahmed, Crawford and José Iglesias — who’ll also hit free agency and has bounced around on minor league deals thus far in 2023 — don’t tend to be priority targets. That opened the door for the likes of Rosario, Báez and a potentially healthy Mondesí — younger players who have shown some offensive upside — to separate themselves from the pack in a way they wouldn’t have the last couple winters. No one has seized the mantle to this point. While there are still more than four months for someone to emerge, the early returns on the shortstop class aren’t promising.
*age for the 2024 season
Wow that is ugly.
Seems like there will be some SS trades
This gives sox nation hope some team will take story off our hands if we eat half his contract
@Murphy, yep the Giants will be trying to trade for a new ss…..oh wait…..we have zero prospects to offer.
Give us Roberto perez and you can have story
This aged poorly
This comment is silly. 2 of the Giants top 3 prospects are SSs, one of which was jist called up 2 days ago (Schmitt). With Luciano likely ready for 2024 Opening Day, the last thing the Giants need to do is trade for a SS. And i’m not even a Giants fan.
Its crazy how you could easily get lambasted for this sentiment on here, but I agree with you. One of the biggest problems I have with MLB, and professional sports in general, is the disgusting amount of money people get paid to play a sport. What’s even more gross, is the people willing to dole out that kind of cash for it.
@ Get Off My Mound… I completely agree. Money has basically ruined almost all of the most popular sports, for me, and it will be the reason I eventually stop paying attention to all of it.
But if the money was offered to you for your job, you’d take it.
I don’t want people to get the wrong idea about what I think regarding this matter. I want the players to get paid very well, their fair share, the game is nothing without them. With that said, I do not like the ridiculous amounts they’re being paid these days, it makes me sick. I don’t want the “owners” to keep the money, of course not, but the situation causes a conundrum in my mind that will never be answered in a way I’m happy with, so I’ll just walk away and stop paying attention. I’ve already wasted enough of my life caring about this stuff anyway.
@diggin: Maybe it’d help if the taxpayers would absolutely REFUSE to help pay for these stadiums?
I used to go to watch the Jays play all the time as a kid growing up with discounted $2 seats ( instead of $10 ) from my local grocery store. It made a fan out of me. Poor kids today ( yes I was poor, family of 8 on a one parent salary ) will not get the same opportunity to go to games. Its $40 bucks to sit in the cheap seats top level way in the back with a hot dog and drink. I can afford to pay that much now but the experience isn’t worth it. It’s better to watch for free on my computer. $2 buck frosty beers and $3 buck plate of nachos.
I remember in 8th grade and throughout high school in the late 90s early 2000s during the summer my friends and I would take the train from New Jersey to new York which was $1 then. Take the subway for $1 up to Yankee stadium and buy bleacher seat tickets for $7 . Those bleacher tickets back then were only available for purchase day of game so we would arrive around 10am for a 1 o’clock game
Now those same seats are gouged for $80 sometimes . If you can get them direct from the Yankees they’re $25 plus fees .
Really said what has happened . At least I’ll always have those great memories of the late 90s
I was just thinking this. Been to two games this year, one in San Diego one in San Francisco and will likely try to hit up a game at Chavez latrine later this year. But the price I paid to take my 4 boys to a single game used to buy season tickets and concessions. I grew up a Giants fan buying cheap seats at candle stick and moving down to better seats after the top of the 5th for free ( looked better for tv). Today a young father in his 20’s likely couldn’t afford to take two boys like my dad did on a auto mechanics salary in SF. If MLB is really interested in getting the younger generation into baseball they should ensure affordability for at least some seats rather than just spread up the game so there’s no room for conversation when your sitting with the old timers at the ball park.
At least in part. I am not saying make 42k seats affordable at oracle but when your selling 20k a game why not have a section of 2k or 3k seats that go for $15, that’s not even that cheap really but it’s affordable to a 20’s something dad with his son or maybe even 2 making $25 an hour to take his kids to a couple games a year, buy a few hotdogs and if he works some overtime maybe some garlic fries. Those kids could end up like me in 30 years able to afford good seats with their kids and ensuring another generation of baseball in San Francisco. In my 20’s I was lucky we had the hapless A’s and $5 Bart Wednesday’s, so my oldest boy grew up a A’s fan, the younger ones are lucky dad finished his degree and now they get to go to Oracle.
@avenger, this is true but to clarify players don’t pay both taxes in their home stat and where they are playing. They pay the taxes for the city the game is in, not both, so sometimes it’s their home city, some times it’s one of 29 other cities 30 if you include Mexico City. A cpa nightmare or goldmine depending on your perspective. Good point all the same though my friend.
but when your selling 20k a game why not have a section of 2k or 3k seats that go for $15,
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You couldn’t possibly be more correct. I was at a couple of Opening Days where it snowed at Yankee Stadium, but they still played the game. They announced that everyone could trade in their ticket stub for three select games later in the season. These were typically Thursday night games against last-place KC.
But it made the fans happy that they got something for nothing. And the Yankees were getting another 5,000-10,000 fans they’d have never gotten, spending good money since the tickets were free.
With my brother and my drinking habits back then, we joked that there was nothing more expensive than free tickets to the Yankees. Steinbrenner was a genius.
Goldmine. Including severance, I’ve collected pay for more days in my career than there are on the calendar. The government is an accountant’s best friend.
I totally agree. The key is to get fans in. They spend money on food/drink and gear. From Detroit, went to a tigers game on a $20 special ticket and spent $45 on food and drink in the game. You also need to generate your next generation of fans.
@diggin…
I agree that the players deserve what they can get. What has ruined the game for me is the corporate influence… skyboxes, lounges, etc. When I was a SD Pads season tix holder years ago, I couldn’t get a seat behind home plate, even though most times, the sections were empty. Why? They were ‘owned’ by businesses, who used them (I guess) to wine and dine clients, and write off their taxes. The saddest by-product is the cost of the prototypical ‘family of four’ to go out to the ‘ol ballgame.’.
They were ‘owned’ by businesses, who used them (I guess) to wine and dine clients,
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I love that. I use to get them maybe once a year. And when my sister use to work for MSG, I would occasionally get that 5:00 call that one of the boxes weren’t being used.
If you can’t be rich, being the recipient of the trickle-down theory is a nice alternative.
Get Off My Mound
What’s even more gross, is the people willing to dole out that kind of cash for it.
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So you don’t go to baseball games, or pay some cable operator to broadcast them, or buy any memorabilia?
Because if you do, then you are one of the “people willing to dole out that kind of cash”.
Are you sitting in judgement of yourself, or do you not know how this works?
You seem pretty triggered by my comments. Don’t worry, you’ll get over it eventually. Or maybe you won’t. Don’t really care to know either way.
@get off my mound. Ah yes, the ol’ “you’re triggered by my comment” response so you don’t have to respond to facts. But you DID say something that is an especially true and self-reflective comment. “Don’t really care to know either way.” That should be your epitaph. All sorts of bold comments while not really caring to know anything.
Thats cute.
Not triggered at all. I just tire of people that don’t understand how this works. Once the public pays the money to watch the game, someone is getting that money. I doesn’t matter to me who gets the money, but someone is going to get very rich.
And it is the same for every industry. When Spielberg makes a movie, the studio makes millions, as does Spielberg, as does a few major stars. When I go see a Paul McCartney or Bruce Springsteen concert, those guys are making multi-millions.
But, but — if Tom Cruise didn’t get paid so much money for being in Top Gun, wouldn’t the tickets for seeing the movie be so much cheaper?
This stuff annoys the crap out of me. I paid pretty decent money to see Paul McCartney, and I am annoyed that I didn’t pay more for better seats. This is why I work for a living; so I can enjoy some of the things I didn’t get as a kid.
I couldn’t care less what happens to the money once it leaves my wallet. Whether he is worth $50M, $100M, $500M means nothing to me. As far as I am concerned, he more than earned the money I gave him.
No, the producer and the studio would just make more.
Just like baseball, if the players don’t get the big bucks, then it’s just more money in the owners’ pockets.
This is an irony alert. You will get no further warnings.
It’s the owner’s cash & not the public.
I was referring to the owners to begin with, not the public, in reference to the people doling out the cash.
Well the real dilemma I don’t like about sports is that it’s US that have rising costs to go to a game and enjoy the entertainment. For me I am glad I have always competitive team but feel bad for fans of tanking or teams not really wanting to go win. You got our money, go spend it and get us great entertainment. At a certain point though we got income equality. I know a few posters on here who work 2-3 jobs and still have a tough time. How much is too much? Think they could maybe give the consumers a break considering we aren’t getting raises like this
Where did the owner get the money from. The public.
Get Off My Mound
I was referring to the owners to begin with, not the public
================================
Why? It is the money going into the game that creates the problem. After that, it is just a distribution process.
If I buy a $30 ticket, and two $13 beers, I have given the team $56. After that, they share the $56 with all their vendors. One of those vendors are the players.
By giving them $56, either the owners or the players are going to get very rich, or very richer. There is no third way.
So YOU are the problem for indirectly giving all this money to the players.
I haven’t give my money to professional sports in almost a decade. Hate to break it to YOU, but you’re incorrect.
But do you understand the process? Did you ever watch a Harry Potter movie? People made millions. Did you ever see a major concert? The musicians make millions. Unless you are posting from a library, your posts are making other people millions.
Gonna be some gross overpays this off-season
Salaries are all relative to other employees in the same job. A bb player who earns $2m/ year is making a lot of money to you and me, but it’s not much in that job. And many players in all the major sports give back. They just can’t give money to every cause. It’s not possible. One highly paid athlete might make a difference for many but one person can’t, as they say, save the world.
Two very different issues not at all related.
Nice
“And we’re giving out cash like it’s worthlesss! “
Fiat currency not backed by anything is worthless or atleast it becomes worthless
VERY WELL said, my friend.. Glad you recognize the truth…
Each team has their payroll limit and most often, spends to it. If one player doesn’t get the big bucks, there is more to go around to the other 25 players. It doesn’t go in the owners pockets. At least not anything that wasn’t going there in the first place. But isn’t the owner of a company allowed to profit from it? Or is Capitalism dead?
Despicable, a ballplayer making $20 mill. is paying $8-$10 mill. a year in taxes to address the matters you’re concerned about. How much are you kicking in, or do you just like to complain?
Professional athletes not only have to pay taxes in their home state, they also have to pay taxes in the state they play in so you’re right, they’re paying plenty of their money to the government.
If you think they are really paying that much in taxes, I have some prime swamp land in Florida to sell you.
That isn’t how the saying works, there is in fact swampland in Florida…
I believe you are looking for an oceanfront property in Oklahoma.
I’m his defense finding land for sale in Florida these days can be as rare as ocean front property in Oklahoma.
Giants like to spend, but only on players that won’t actually ever play a game in a Giants uniform. That is to say they like to run up the bidding process, I hope if the dodgers are involved they really run it up this time.
I do suppose that tracks~
For Love of the Game
Despicable, a ballplayer making $20 mill. is paying $8-$10 mill. a year in taxes
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I don’t think people understand the process. Assuming that most of the folks in here are using their own PC and internet, then a few things happen:
1-The software owner, the hardware manufacturer, and the internet provider are making billions.
2-Those same three groups are paying billions in taxes.
3-Thise same three provide a necessary service.
4-Those same three employ millions of people, generally providing salary, medical and pension benefits.
Just from my own perspective, if I didn’t have large corporations that needed my services, I’d be doing the books for the local bakery. And if I had to do the books for the local bakery, I wouldn’t even be able to afford to eat there.
So ur down for capitalism for the owners and not for the players? Thats a weird stance
I wouldn’t mind having my boi Urshela back playing 3rd next season with the Yankees again. I definitely seeing the Mets having interest in Gio also, playing 3rd next season Reuniting with Lindor from their Cleveland days. Why not? A Good player and a good guy also.
We’re not giving out cash. The 1% Owners, who don’t pay their taxes, are giving out the cash. Pro-sports is a mockery of capitalism as it is. Best, to not think about it, sit back and enjoy the game.
Hey despicable! Good morning!
I hope Shohei gets $800MM.
And a ridiculous expense account.
All the best.
Time for people to start lining up and be ready to give us a lot for Adames
Seems like a no-brainer the White Sox should trade Anderson. That team is a mess and Montgomery is a year or so away.
It frightens me that because of market conditions, the Cardinals will end up keeping Paul DeJong.
If Pauly D could spend every weekend in Memphis getting some actual useful coaching, he could probably have a really nice season.
He still has easy-pop, that’s a plus..
Pauly D! He just hit the go-ahead HR in the top of the 9th. I have never watched two teams try so hard to blow a ballgame, but the Cards might win by attrition. Knizner has suddenly become a doubles machine.
DeJong sucks, you guys have to better options down in your farm system, give those guys a chance.
You must not have DeJong play this season. He overhauled his swing over the offseason, and so far he’s been great. If he keeps it up, he’ll actually be worth keeping for $12.5M despite how unbelievable that was to think just 6 months ago.
In all fairness haven’t seen him as much so my apologies for jumping the gun, I’ll defer to Cardinals fans. He hasn’t been great the past few seasons, hopefully he keeps it up, 12.5 million is a good chunk of money to strive for.
I clearly see scenarios of Pauley as a 2024 Cardinal with a couple of Winn, Jonathan Meijia, Edman, Donovon, Gorman going in feeble attempts to upgrade pitching.
They won’t keep DeJong unless he continues to hit. Why wouldn’t you want them to keep him if he does hit? He could be a nice trade piece if does have a good year. As long as he hits, those two options will be nice.
With Edman around and Winn in Triple-A, there’s no reason to keep DeJong for $12.5M next year.
Maybe, but either Edman or DeJong (after the option is picked up) could be traded for pitching.
If DeJong keeps hitting the way he’s hitting now, you have to exercise that option even if it’s to trade him later. Have you seen how much shortstops are getting paid?
If he keeps playing like this, I’d be glad to keep him for $12.5M next year.
DeJong continuing to play like this is a huge “if.” Let’s see how he’s doing in September.
Looks like this upcoming offseason, could be very active trade wise. That might make for a very interesting and entertainingly different player movement scenarios than what we’ve become accustomed to.
Doggone, I think it will be a very active hot stove with many trades made.
White Sox are looking like a team that will be active at the deadline and in the off season from the way they keep playing.
They might trade some of their better players. The problem is the FO is so incompetent I doubt they’ll get anything of value in return.
If they trade Tim as an example, theoretically they should get something good since he’s still productive, young and affordable but I agree they would probably get fleeced.
Bats in general are weak. Smart ran teams already knew this and addressed their needs and will sit back and watch the desperation contracts handed out.
Hopefully that means a lot of trades happen next off season.
Orioles
Twins
Yankees
Pirates
Rays
Seem to have a surplus of options at ss. Maybe they deal from their surplus to improve the roster elsewhere.
Biggest name on trade market might be Taylor Walls. Rays could potentially deal him to improve their CF and C situation long term.
Orioles could move anyone 1 of Ortiz, Westburg, Henderson to improve their pitching situation long term.
Only thing the Pirates have at ss is the hopes and dreams Cruz comes back the same and the small sample size of him being solid at ss is sustainable.
Sure, but a team looking for a ss could ask about Nick Gonzalez or Ji Hwan Bae, Rodolfo Castro has seem to hit well for the Pirates this year so far. I assume Castro and Cruz will be the ss/2b tandem leaving Gonzalez and Bae as trade chips
None of those guys can play ss. You can put anyone anywhere but they aren’t even ok ss. Not good defensively anywhere but definitely not ss.
Castro looks like a weak platoon dh utility. If Gonzales can’t beat him for 2b he won’t have any meaningful trade value. Johnson could make Gonzales expendable in 3 years.
@jung: Walls numbers are heading back to the same place they’ve been over the previous seasons. I’m not saying he hasn’t improved at all, but I’d be very careful about assuming too much when it comes to Walls offensive upside.
At minimum, Walls can certainly be a roughly league average bat with elite defense and speed and still be a 3-4 WAR type player.
good thing SEA passed on the last two historically good classes….
Seattle and Baltimore line up really well in this scenario. Mariners have surplus of arms. Orioles have surplus of ss options. Trade could definitely happen between the two in the off season.
STL another good match….Yepez might be a low cost in-season upgrade at DH
St Louis also has a middle infield surplus.
Crawford is all they need. Smart move to stick with him.
not smart passing on the entire FA class though…..you can justify keeping JP as a league average cost controlled SS as long as you invest the savings in significan’t upgrades elsewhere…..’Tommy La Stella DH’ aint it though
hard to be a fan when the most profitable team in baseball last year completely cheaps out during the contention window we’ve waited 20 years for…..
I’m just hoping the penny pinching has been so they can grab Ohtani this off season. Julio/Ohtani would be a dream combo.
That would be amazing!
They needed a 2b and there weren’t any. Can France play 2b? If so they should have signed a 1b. If not you just tuff it out. Overpaying for a ss when you already have one is a bad idea.
I didn’t expect Kolton Wong to drop off the cliff this fast.
@Don I never analyzed it but it’s surprising. Heard his glove fell off as much as the bat. If true that’s more surprising. Frazier would have been a better option even though he was weak for them.
Wong isn’t a SS in the first place. Not every good fielding 2B can just switch positions to the other side of the second base bag (now that overshifts are banned).
@bearproof
It probably is since every SS got a contract that is underwater. Swanson seems to be the least over paid so far. Correa could be done with his next slide, otherwise, he might be ok at his new lower rate.
Doesn’t e every team, other than the Dodgers, who can afford, and likes to spend money, has a shortstop,
Maybe the Mariners, but they believe in Crawford.
Dodgers currently have Rojas there, but he is anything but elite. Lux returning next year. If Dodgers are gonna make a move it will need to be by the deadline.
I believe the Dodgers are the only team that like to spend that doesn’t have a shortstop.
Rojas is at least close to being an elite defender. On the other part, it’s hard to see any difference-makers who could be available at the deadline. Bobby Witt? Probably not. Tim Anderson? Maybe.
They are overselling Baez. He had a little hot streak over the weekend that pushed his overall numbers up to respectable. But the eye test says otherwise. He looks even more disinterested and un-coachable than he did in Chicago. There is NO WAY he’s opting out.
He’s a malcontent for sure.
But…if he hits someone will throw a prospect at the Tigers to get him. Playoff success is all about short term thinking. He only needs to be good until the trade deadline. I think him and Eduardo Rodriguez both get traded and bring back value. Scott Harris got Jusytn Henry-Malloy for Joe Jimenez so dont sleep on it.
You are more optimistic than I, but if Scott Harris finds a team trying to collect former World Champion Chicago Cubs on bad contracts………..
But nobody is picking up Baez’ remaining contract…….except for maybe STL. They’d bring him in with pie in the sky expectations, and 5 weeks later the FO will complain that he makes too many errors and swings at everything in the same ZIP code as the plate.
It was inevitable that the Baez contract would be terrible. His entire plate approach was completely unsustainable once he started losing bat speed with age. Unfortunately for the Tigers, that started happening right away with them.
They are stuck with him for the duration, and I do mean STUCK.
Not only is Javier Baez a bust, he appears disinterested. I don’t see anyone being interested in him in a trade with the attitude he’s playing with.
The Tigers should just bench him.
Yeah it’s a weak SS class but anyone who’s anyone already has their SS for next year. What team that expects to contend is in need of a SS?
Indians after Rosario leaves?
Yankees young guys don’t pan out?
Dodgers could make space?
Dbacks maybe put their name in the contenders hat?
Padres always need another SS right?
Cardinals need another OF/DH they just signed?
Sure the pickings are slim but so are the pickers
A contender with an injured starting SS? If Correa’s ankle turns into dust, then the Twins.
With the way Correa has been playing they need one right now!
DBacks don’t really have a reason to acquire a SS to replace Ahmed (or really any position player); Perdomo has been looking good in every phase of the game and Blaze Alexander was looking ready for an MLB shot before he was injured by a HBP, and those two are under team control more than long enough to permit Lawlar growing pains as he establishes himself.
CLE has a pipeline full of middle infielders. If Rosario can get his act together by July they’ll likely trade him to LAD. DBacks and STL will legitimately need a SS. Padres only have like 5 players on their roster who can play SS, so they’ll definitely be in on everyone like they normally are.
Since when do the Cardinals need a shortstop? They already have a good one in Edman, and while he could move to 2B, one of their top prospects in AAA is a SS. Then there’s always Donovan, and even DeJong is finally looking like his old self and actually has a chance at having his option picked up.
He’s mostly just dogging the Cardinals because of our terrible start and chaotic roster. Which we have coming.
If current trends continue our shortstop for the next 5-10 years is Masyn Winn, as you imply. Hes going to be a top 10 prospect sooner rather than later
No need whatsoever to look for a FA with Him, Edman and (as depth) Donovan all cost controlled options.
Kike is an option at SS if needed, not a daily SS. He’s a lot like CT3.
corrosive23 – Kiki sucks. Seriously. 10 years hitting under .240 bad defender. He’s not a good AAA player. If his father wasn’t best friends with Cora he’d be in the minors. LAD dumped him. Enough said.
A smart GM would drop a load on Bobby Witt Jr. if they needed a long term SS.
Why insult CT3 by comparing him to a schmuck like Hernandez? What did he ever do to you?
Corrosive: You are correct. Kike is an excellent defensive CFer and
utility player, but not a good everyday SS. Ignore anyone who uses BA as their main evaluator. OPS of .729 career is a much better indicator of his all around hitting ability. And for a Utility player, thats excellent.
the upcoming FA class doesn’t looks that impressive with an exception to a few guys.
The Brewers are going to get an absolute haul for Adames!
The Padres currently have 2-SS on pace for 6 WAR this year. One will be available this offseason.
That is really poor quality. Best to throw a single-A guy in there.
Can Machado opt out after the year? He can also play shortstop.
I don’t think San Diego was stupid enough to do that again. At his age it’s unlikely he would be playing ss for long.
Defensively he’s like the 4th or 5th best SS on the Padres. Pretty unlikely he’s ever seeing time there again considering X, Crone, and Tatis are all looked up long term.
No, he extended until 2033.
Marcus Semien’s agent thanks you for promoting their image as a top free agent hitter capable of playing shortstop. The gift card and a stat sheet of meaningless peripherals are in the mail.
Correa .185 Yikes. He must be Hurt. Probably the Back again. Very nice contract Indeed.
Seager I guess he’s out injured.
Seamen has been fantastic. What a signing.
Story & Baez. Yikes again. 4 more years each I think.
Turner still early.
Boagerts still early even with the success. I don’t think his age will matter for a few more seasons.
Swanson seems to be playing well. Nice.
Seager is often injured, he’s played less than half of all regular games since his debut.
Turner looks like he’s pressing? 1 PA he looks good and the next looks too eager. He’s already lost his lead off gig. He has a long enough track record that we shouldn’t be worried, just hope he’s not pulling a ’22 Castellanos.
My hope is Topper just leaves him at the #2 slot and Long gets him through this tough stretch.
Most teams have a solid SS prospect. SS is overvalued. It’s a glove first position and shouldn’t command a serious overpay. Look at the teams who are getting burned on recent SS megadeals.
The White Sox should re-up with Anderson if for no other reason than he simply kills the Detroit Tigers. Anderson is a HOF’er if he only played the Kitties.
Bo knows. Bichette waiting patiently for his turn to break the bank.
I wonder if Boston plans to use Trevor Story at SS when he is healthy enough to return?Hopefully, Mondesi will be ready by the end of May as well. The long term SS for Boston should be Mayer but Story is good enough to hold the spot for him unless his elbow repair doesn’t allow him to play SS, in which case Boston will need another short-term option to play SS until Mayer is ready. I could see Boston signing one of the older SS free agents for the 2024 season just to protect themselves.
I hope not this season. At this point, we just need to muddle along. If we get either Story or Mondesi back, it will allow more flexibility We basically need 3+ bodies out there. Even with all the injures, we are 26th in fWAR at SS and 21st at 2nd. It wouldn’t take much to make us league average at both positions.
In 2024, I’d like to see Story back at SS after his arm had time to heal and prove itself.
Ok just give Bo his 300 million right now.
The entire 2023-2024 free agent class at all positions is probably the worst it’s been in 4 years. If teams didn’t get their guy(s) this past offseason, they won’t be over spending on mediocre talent with no younger players this year. On the other hand, this free agent class will benefit guys like Aaron Nola who if he doesn’t sign with the Phillies will get paid by a team one vet pitcher away from contention.
Saying you are back when beating the last place team is embarrassing not a serious goal, how silly. Trade TA while he is in uniform before you lose the opportunity to do so. Anyone would pay his option year.
My romantic life looks increasingly bleak.