The Detroit Tigers are “in agreement” with free agent second baseman Jonathan Schoop, per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. It’s a one-year deal worth $6.1MM plus performance bonuses for Schoop, a client of VC Sports Group. Rosenthal notes that the Tigers plan on utilizing Schoop in the middle of the order as their everyday second baseman. The Tigers have announced the deal.
Schoop stays in the American League where he has spent his entire career save the couple months in Milwaukee following the 2018 trade deadline. He enjoyed a bit of a return to form with the Twins last season, though come playoff time, the Twins turned to rookie Luis Arraez to man the keystone.
On the one hand, the Twins are probably satisfied with the return they got from Schoop on a one year, $7.5MM base deal. He put forth a .256/.304/.473 line with 23 home runs in 464 plate appearances, amassing 1.8 bWAR/1.3 fWAR. The 28-year-old graded out as an average or slightly below-average defender at second base by UZR and DRS.
On the other hand, a slight pay cut likely signals that teams aren’t seeing the upside that once accompanied Schoop, whose 5.2 bWAR season in 2017 with the Orioles suggested superstar potential. That season seems more and more anomalous the further it moves in the rearview.
Still, a 100 wRC+ pegs him right around league-average as an offensive contributor. Schoop will likely join with Niko Goodrum to form the everyday double play duo in Detroit next season, per MLB.com’s Jason Beck. The pair certainly offers a higher-upside play than the veteran duo of Jordy Mercer and Josh Harrison that started up the middle on Opening Day of 2018.
The move also buys development time for Willi Castro and Sergio Alcantara. Castro struggled mightily in his first taste of the big leagues, hitting just .230/.284/.340 in a 30-game sample. He’ll be in the infield mix this season, but Schoop gives the Tigers the flexibility to be patient with a young group of position players prospects.
He’s gonna get flipped at the deadline decent signing
Just what he is here for. Be the stop gap for the young guys and be just productive enough a playoff team takes him.
Good sign i like Schoopy!!
Flipped? The Tigers are making big moves, Romine, Schoop, Cron, they are ready to compete for a playoff spot now.
@Dom, thanks for the good laugh!
Considering the rest of the team and how washed Miggy is I’d say Schoop will be easily their best hitter.
your opinion is trash
Because?
Just saw they signed Cron….he could end up being their best hitter haha
wow, that is quite rude, care to elaborate?, seems pretty reasonable to me
Your comment made me vomit
Can’t say I disagree with David Klein….he should be on par with Cabrera….Cabrera probably hits for better average but I could see Schoop with more power (surprising I know)….but unless one of their young players breaks out, I agree with Klein
He’ll be one of their leading home run and runs batted in hitters, maybe even number one for both, but best overall? I don’t know about that.
Miggy is not washed up yet but he’s getting closer to that AROID finish than a Big Pappy finish.
I think School is still certainly capable of hitting 30+ HRs in a season (he was more or less on pace for that over 160 games last year) and if only he could increase his OBP a little bit he could turn into a legitimate AS-caliber 2B. I still think he’s got it in him but at this point he’ll have to make an improvement fast to salvage what once was a potential “star” career. But either way solid signing and I wish him the best!
Miggy is not washed up
Have the Twins made any moves this year?
Pineda, Romo, Clippard
They’re all in on Donaldson and Ryu.
Always good to see when teams like Detroit, KC, Miami etc make moves that actually improve their team. Detroit has an obvious need at 2B and I can see Schoop batting 1st or 2nd in that lineup. Maybe this will start an avalanche of signings of the many affordable free agent 2B types on the market like Dozier and others
Wouldn’t almost any move improve those teams?
@tecjug, the Orioles let their best player go, so no, all moves do not result in improvement…
easily the best hitter on the team. Avila isn’t totally braindead
I am assuming many others have been turning Tigers down so they had to overpay to get someone to come. Not trolling. I am diehard Tigers fan. Just sad this is the situation. I think Schoop will be fine, just a curious signing by AA.
He’s gonna flip them at deadline for prospects. It makes sense.
Better than last years signing of Jordy Mercer for $5.25 mill., wouldn’t you admit?
Great upside here. Batting in that ballpark, hurts eveybody though.
Doesn’t hurt everybody…kind of a catch-22 in detroit; it depends how you cut it, but comerica is actually pretty friendly to LF for righties. just that CF remains a black hole. someone pull-happy (like pre-2019 cj cron!) could take advantage.
Line-drive hitters and speedsters do great at CoPa. Wisely, that’s who Avila has been drafting recently (besides pitchers).
I just wish they built the team more on those guys. Most of guys do well for HR in minors but get up to majors and can’t deliver same power.
Surprised Schoop didn’t get at least a two year deal.
I’m not he wanted a make good deal
bit surprised the red sox didnt want him, everyday second baseman that can hit for a high average and stay in the division, we are still pretending dustin is coming back?
Schoop has never hit for a high average save for one season.
Indians fans (if any) who were hoping that Schoop might cover the keystone for the Tribe can abandon that wish…..and it looks like many other wishes, too.
I just had a nightmare. The Indians are planning to reacquire Stamets and Moroff….
What’s worse than the nightmare is that they won’t do any better than that kind of thing, even if the names of the considerably less than average people they get are different.
Might the Tigers be more competitive than the Tribe? Ouch!
Well Merry Christmas, I love the signing. Didn’t expect this.
Dang it! Wanted the Astro’s to get him
Is Schoop turning into the Mike Moustakas free agent?
Moustakas didn’t sign with a rebuilding team as a deadline chip like Schoop and Cron just did.
I like it. I’d take Mousetakas, too !!
Can’t wait to see Miggy bounce back to be an effective DH the last years of his deal. He was clearly still hurting last year, but the further away he gets from the surgery the better he should get.
Hate to see this year’s edition of the Tigers. Who is the club trying to fool? Finding young talent takes time and patience. Instead the Tigers waste time and caution by “filling holes”. Hopefully the club will leave town in the middle of the night and relocate to Ft Wayne, Indiana.
We have a beautiful stadium waiting for them here.
I disagree JoeFriday. The old saying about prospects is “ The good ones come fast “. Sure they take time to develop, but their raw skills shine through. Miggy might show more power this season, as he might have had a restriction on over swinging after injury. We will see this season what he is able to do. He was usually in the top 10 in AL for singles in 2019.
Cesar Hernandez could have been had and what did the Tigers do? Another example of a last place club fighting to do poorly