Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports
During last Friday’s press conference to introduce Billy Eppler as the New York Mets’ general manager, owner Steve Cohen and team president Sandy Alderson shared thoughts on a number of topics. One of those topics involved free-agent middle infielder, Javier Báez.
Cohen shared the following tidbit when asked about Báez:
Steve Cohen on Javier Báez, "He did a phenomenal job for us. He's an exciting ballplayer to watch. He brings a lot of energy to the table. I really like Javy. We had a great dinner together after the season."
— Mike Mayer (@mikemayer22) November 19, 2021
In 186 plate appearances with the Mets after he was acquired in advance of the July 31st trade deadline, Báez slashed .299/.371/.515 with nine home runs, 22 RBI, and 32 runs scored. That offensive performance led to 143 wRC+, along with noticeable improvements in his walk rate (4.2% before trade, 7.0% after trade) and strikeout rate (36.3% before trade, 28.5% after trade). After compiling 2.0 fWAR in 91 games played for the Chicago Cubs, he posted 1.7 fWAR in just 47 games played for New York.
When you combine all that with his multi-positional ability, he’s a hot commodity on the open market. Judging from Cohen’s comments and reports that the Mets met with Báez’s representation during the recent GM Meetings, it’s safe to assume New York would like to re-sign him. Of course, after the season he just put together, the soon-to-be 29-year-old is garnering lots of interest.
Two organizations of note are the Detroit Tigers and the Boston Red Sox. These two seem like interesting — if not imperfect — fits for Báez, until the layers of the proverbial onion are peeled back.
Detroit has been most connected to free-agent shortstop Carlos Correa for a couple of reasons: they have the ability to spend, and Correa’s former manager, A.J. Hinch, is currently the Tigers’ skipper. Those rumors continued to gain momentum last week when reports surfaced of Correa and Hinch meeting up to enjoy breakfast together. But over the weekend, MLB insider Jon Heyman poured some cold water on the Correa-to-Detroit rumors:
Tigers do love Carlos Correa but have heard from Tigers people who insist they will not spend $300M on any one player due to multiple needs. They are considering Javier Baez and Marcus Semien (and possibly Trevor Story though that’s unconfirmed), who won’t command that figure.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 19, 2021
Correa would obviously be ideal, but someone like Báez or Semien (who just finished third in AL MVP voting) would be a huge upgrade at shortstop for the Tigers at a fraction of the cost. In 2021, Detroit posted a -0.1 fWAR at shortstop, which was the third-worst mark in baseball.
That’s certainly not the case for Boston, which currently has Xander Bogaerts installed at the position. Bogaerts also just started playing under his extension, which could keep him in Beantown until 2025, but he has an opt-out following 2022. That’d allow him to enter the open market as a 4-5 win player entering his age-30 season. While Báez would prefer to play shortstop, it’s certainly possible he’d be willing to move over to second for a year if it means he can slide back to short in 2023 for the Red Sox.
There are lots of moving parts and variables to that, along with no guarantees, though. Whatever happens from here, Báez should have a strong market for his services based on his skill set, ability to play multiple positions, and his current age. If the Mets are serious about bringing him back to Flushing for next season and beyond, Eppler will need to make that one of his priorities.
You know, along with all the other priorities he needs to focus on.
