The Tigers were seemingly all-in on Carlos Correa in MLB free agency but the price tag has caused Detroit to shift their focus with the hot stove burning.
From the moment that the Detroit Tigers were considered to be in on one of the biggest fish in MLB free agency, former Astros shortstop Carlos Correa, the organization has been clear that they want the player but not if he’s going to cost them an astronomical amount.
Put simply, it appears that Detroit is trying to approach an important offseason for the club by spending big but doing so with some discretion about how much is too much. And apparently, what Correa wants is just far too much for the Tigers to oblige.
According to MLB insider Buster Olney, Detroit is shifting their focus to another high-profile shortstop, Javy Baez, in free agency instead of staying laser-focused on Correa.
Tigers shifting focus to Javy Baez given Carlos Correa’s price tag
Full disclosure, there’s a reason that Baez is a cheaper option than Correa.
Outside of home runs, stolen bases and slugging percentage, Correa has the advantage over his free-agent shortstop counterpart in every statistical category this past season. Furthermore, Correa has been a far more consistent player, even if the flashes from Baez might’ve been brighter at times with both the Cubs and Mets.
But in the interest of not over-spending this offseason, Baez could be a far better option than Correa. He’s still not far removed from what his counterpart is as a player and, on top of that, he would be an obvious and substantial upgrade over what the Tigers have fielded in recent years.
As such, it’s hard not to think that this is a wise change of course for Detroit.