The Tigers are non-tendering third baseman Jeimer Candelario, reports Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free-Press (Twitter link). He’d been projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $7MM salary.
Candelario has been the Tigers primary third baseman for the past five seasons. Originally acquired from the Cubs in a 2017 trade, he was manning the hot corner at Comerica Park by the start of the following year. Candelario posted below-average numbers for his first two seasons, but the switch-hitting infielder showed some promise with a .297/.369/.503 line in 52 games during the abbreviated 2020 campaign.
It never looked likely he’d replicate quite that level of production over a full season, but Candelario backed up his numbers with another impressive year. Through 626 trips to the plate in 2021, he posted a .271/.351/.443 showing with 16 longballs and 42 doubles. That brought his two-year line to .278/.356/.458 in more than 800 plate appearances.
Candelario looked like an above-average regular at the hot corner, a productive middle-of-the-order bat with capable defensive marks. Like much of the Detroit lineup, he fell off sharply in 2022. Candelario’s .217/.272/.361 line across 124 games proved a major disappointment. He had some unfortunate batted ball marks, with a .257 average on balls in play well shy of both the .290 league figure and the career .308 BABIP which Candelario carried into the season.
A rebound in his ball in play results would go a long way towards getting things back on track, but the dip isn’t solely attributable to poor luck. Candelario’s 34.6% hard contact rate was almost five percentage points lower than his 2021 mark and down 12 points from where it sat in 2020. He saw a similar decline in his average exit velocity. He hit more ground balls and pop-ups than he had the previous two seasons, while his line drive rate sunk.
Whether to place a roughly $7MM bet on Candelario to right the ship for his final season of arbitration was a key early decision for new president of baseball operations Scott Harris. Detroit opted against doing so, and they could look for third base help this offseason as a result. The Tigers have Ryan Kreidler as an in-house option to play somewhere on the infield, with third base now standing as the clearest path to playing time. Should Detroit add depth at the hot corner in the coming months, Kreidler could push Jonathan Schoop for playing time at second base.
Further thinning their infield depth, Detroit non-tendered utility players Harold Castro and Willi Castro. Both were eligible for arbitration for the first time and projected for salaries in the $2MM range. They each have some infield versatility and bat-to-ball skills, but neither draws many walks or hits for power. The Tigers will look elsewhere for bench depth. Detroit also non-tendered a number of players — Michael Papierski, Miguel Díaz, Kyle Funkhouser and Brendon Davis — who’d previously been designated for assignment.
Candelario, despite his down year, is one of the better free agent options available in a weak third base class. Justin Turner is the top option after being bought out by the Dodgers, while players like Evan Longoria, Jace Peterson and fellow non-tender Brian Anderson make up the next tier.
Less than 30 switch hitter, playing the corners, lot places for him to go on flyer.
Pretty poor defender and the analytics were really bad last year. Someone will give it a go, but Tigers were right not to spend $7m on him this year.
Yes from the Tigers side this was the only way to go. I left out one word “cheap” before flyer.
Sad to see Candy go, seems like a great guy and great teammate but he hasn’t been producing on either side of the ball. Wish him the best.
I was thinking that they might resign him on a one year contract for a reduced price (3-4 million). Apparently, they couldn’t come to an agreement.
Can’t cut salary in arbitration.
They can absolutely offer a cheaper contract before it goes to arbitration. Candelario wasn’t interested.
Pretty sure they can offer up to 20% less than the previous year
Not a surprise after his 2022 season. Castro’s also non-tendered. Harris has a history of churning the back end of the roster and he has continued to do this in Detroit. Who knows, maybe Candy comes back on a lighter contract than he’d get in arbitration. We’ll see.
Tigers also non-tendered Willi and Harold Castro.
Yeah, they’re not playing around.
Now they can go the extra step and fire Matt Shepard. He’s the worst play by play announcer I’ve ever heard!
Him and Price are both horrible. Probably good guys, but unbelievably annoying.
Gibson is the worst by far.
Price isn’t a play by play…..he’s an analyst. He is a good guy, who has cancer and can’t travel anymore. I’m not exactly a huge JP fan, but at least he’s not as bad as Jack Morris, who isn’t a very nice person nor is he a good analyst.
The thing about Shepard and Price is they both do better in a one on one interview than being in the booth.
Too bad Rod Wood choked Mario Impemba out, because I really enjoyed both of them.
Disagree on Gibson. He’s better than Morris and Monroe. He may sound old and slow, but that’s due to his Parkinson’s Disease. He talks deliberately. I understand this, because my dad passed away from complications of PD 10 1/2 years ago. Gibby knows what he’s talking about and tells it like it is.
I like Gibson and Morris. They do just fine.
Baseball is a game best heard over the radio. For radio play by play, there’s a super high bar set by Paul Carey and Ernie Harwell.
From fragments of the memory of my youth, once a week everyone watched Dizzy Dean on TV. I did like George Kell but no one else televised was so great in Detroit
Shepard>Mario
For baseball, he definitely is the worst. Nice guy, does a lot for the community and isn’t bad at hockey, but he is definitely not good at baseball.
The Tigers know it. That’s why they dub DD’s call over Shep’s when they post videos of the big plays on social media.
Shepard is a professional announcer. Some of the old Tigers players in the booth are not very good and the only thing saving them are their “old war stories”.
More Craig Monroe and Shepard on the play by play and commentary
and less of some of the other guys…
I saw this coming. Candelario should sign with a club that allows him just to play without a lot of pressure and get back on track.
He is another value play: either he gets his game back or
he is off to Japan or Korea.
Ditto with Bellinger.
I am surprised that the Tigers had hired Scott Coobaugh as hitting coach
under the last regime.
I don’t think he ever hit in the majors as a player.
And, they hired a minor league hitter, Mike Hessman, as Asst?!
Neither of those guys hit much in the majors
(only in the minors).
Good thing Scott Harris is “cleaning house” in Detroit.
Harris has an excellent reputation on “value plays”
with one year free agent contracts.
I expect he will sign a handful of 1 year “value play deals”
and also let some of the young Tigers establish themselves at the big league level.
I can see the Twins signing Jeimer Candelario
That’d be Rod Allen.
Must Sheperd talk about crying every game? He is always bringing up how something was so touching he had to cry. Geez, enough of that already. Trying to watch a game over here!
Yeah, I got no problems with them. Shepard might be a nice guy, but he’s mediocre. He’s predictable like Rod Allen, and when he sucks up to Morris by laughing too much, it gets kind of awkward. I wouldn’t mind getting an upgrade there.
Rod Allen
Tigers let candy go that’s crazy candy should having 15 calls from different team right now !!
He definitely has a suitors. But for projected $7m, I imagine that market drastically condenses.
I am going to miss Candy, but wish him the best.
According to the Detroit Free Press, the Tigers informed Candelario that he was being non-tendered. They tried to negotiate a cheaper contract, but the two sides never came close to an agreement.
There was never any chance that they were going to give him $7,000,000 (the projected salary if it went to arbitration).
Why? It’s not like the Tigers are pushing up against the tax threshold, or even approaching their max payroll. $7 MM is chump change nowadays. They are not going to find a cheaper 3B who can put up the numbers he did in 2020 or 2021. Cutting him returns nothing. If he rebounds, he has a market at the deadline.. And they cut Harold? The guy can play anywhere and could put the ball in play. WTF is Harris doing? Reyes was also a great bench player, at a low salary, switch hitter who could play any OF. Letting players go for nothing is just going to weaken the bench. Tired of his teardown already. Add a player or two. of substance!.
Reyes, Castro and Castro were all below average MLB ballplayers. Exactly the kind of guys who need to be removed if the the team is every going to improve. Poor defense, no power and horrible strikeout/walk ratios.
As for Candelario, he wasn’t worth $7,000,000 and didn’t want to take less. I’m relieved that Harris is starting to cut out the dead wood.
They will never give him 7 million now where u gonna get a 3B less de 7 million ?
Harris will probably trade for a third baseman. Let’s hope that his trading skills are better than Avila’s.
@Thonolans Look at the FA’s. No choice now. I’m looking forward to it.
It was a “no brainer”. Candelario, like Bellinger, has been struggling with his hitting for at least 2 years.
It is time to get a look at some of the Tigers young players like Ryan Kreidler.
Also
Although Kreidler does deserve a chance, theyve given a look to countless young players and it isn’t working. Time to acquire some proven players.
Kreidler and Lipcius will get a chance in utility roles, but the Tigers will likely trade for an everyday third baseman.
Neither Candelario nor H. and W. Castro had a good season (albeit both Castros did shine some time). But it is interesting to see who will replace them. It won’t likely matter much, but I cannot say I am totally fine with letting all three go – at least at this moment.
Gruß,
BSHH
All three are a dime a dozen. I think the one I was most surprised by was Harold, but heard the rumblings that he was on the bubble with the other two. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if at least one of them was brought back by the Tigers on a minor league contract, with a spring training invite.
Jeimer stunk the joint up all year. Even when he was playing well, he wasn’t anything special.
This team needs as much change as possible.
Hopefully they can be a bit better in 2023, then once they clear Cabrera’s salary, they can get a legit guy in here and build a winner.
Speaking of Cabrera, I’m still hoping that he and the Tigers’ front office can come to the realization that it’s time for him to retire.
It’s a touchy situation. How they treat him will be remembered by FA’s they try to sign. It’s only one more season they have to absorb. Plus, i get the feeling they’re going to not hesitate to DL him from now on.
The whole Tiger team could be gone save for Miguel, and it’s his last year. There are no real fan must have favorites. Probably even including the system there are no untouchables. The new mandate is compete like Tampa does every year with limited resources, so they will have a free hand to get there.
M.l.B itself is the wild card. The dead baseballs from last year, will they remain ? How will the new rules make the game over ? The team will get a makeover, how long is anyone’s guess it goes on for. Detroit’s time of having superstar’s like a Verlander, Scherzer, Miguel, J.D are perhaps long gone. Winning baseball with a team of unknowns might be how it plays out going forward.
Tigers should go after Bellinger.
I’d rather they didn’t. They already have enough guys who’ve forgotten how too hot.
That should be “…Forgotten how to hit.”
Tough times for favorite players and good guys.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Candelario back on the Northside. The Nats also would be a good fit
He’s a great candidate for a major bounce back season. He’s shown that he is a capable hitter. He led the league in doubles in 2021. He was so bad in 2022 that I totally agree with not offering him a contract for 2023.
With that being said, the Tigers bear a lot of responsibility for his woes over this past season. Their hitting instruction across all levels had to have been the worst in baseball.
I could see candelario getting offer for others teams pretty soon the tigers now need a 3B
The Tigers’ need a third baseman and a corner outfielder. I’ll be very interested to see who they get and how they get them.
I like Meadows, Riley, and Kerry Carpenter. Maybe Baddoo can return to being useful but I liked Willi Castro a lot more and he’s gone. I’d play Hasse in LF against southpaws so who’s the 4th OFer? Reyes is gone too….I hope Harris ain’t the second coming of Randy Smith.
For the outfield, I’d say Meadows, Greene and a new guy as regulars and Carpenter and Baddoo as 4th and 5th outfielders. If he hits, Carpenter can also share DH duties with Cabrera.
As for infield: 1b Torkelson, 2b Schoop, SS Baez, 3b another new guy. Kreidler or Lipcius as utility infielder. Apparently Cabrera as DH for one more year.
Those last two words made me throw up in my mouth a little bit. Boy genius, wows ’em in interviews, signs multiple, mediocre players from previous stops… Reminds me of the old movie title, “I Wake Up Screaming.”
AJ’s apparent endorsement calms my nerves a little bit.
I’ve said all along that Harris should wait until ST to find out who can hit on this club. After two years of nutcase Scott Coolbaugh screaming at them, who knows who’s recovered and who never will. I like Kreidler for SS, move Baez to 3B, stick with the kids. Chris I has proved he will spend and got burned. Now that the Wings’ new stadium is paid down a bit and the pizza and casino businesses are solvent again, feature pitching, move in the fences a little, and put a young team of go-getters on the field. Detroit fans will respond if they can see a light at the end of the tunnel.
Getting away from CoAmerica probably will bode well for the Candy man similar to Castellanos.
What a dumb decision that was to build such a cavernous park. They tried to outsmart the league then proceeded to acquire players who didn’t fit the ballpark. DUMB. Or they kept getting Derek Hill types who could run but do nothing else.
The one thing about the guys let go… Candy & Willi seemed to get in a little groove toward the end of the season and Harold was probably the most reliable hitter when a hit was needed. I could see Candy & Willi breaking out this season. But I don’t get paid the big bucks to guess what somebody may do. All of their track records are pretty mediocre.
After seeing what Eugenio Suarez, Wily Adames and Isaac Paredes have done, it makes me wonder if the Tigers have had a big development problem as opposed to talent-scouting ability. Will Candy & the Castros go on to be All Stars elsewhere?
If I was Kerry Carpenter I’d want out of Detroit as well, his numbers on the road this past season are all-star quality albeit a small sample.
Eugenio Suarez and Willy Adames would’ve never been given a chance by Detroit managers. That’s still the same. It’s not as much as a scouting and development issues, players are sidelined once they rose through the ranks.
Suarez gave Miggy a little too long a pat on the butt running off the field one time…..Miggy spun around and looked like he was going to hit him. I had an idea that was the end of the kid in Detroit and it was. There’s a reason he’s played on 3 teams in 3-4 years.
I had been in favor of trading Candelario at “peak value” a few years ago.
Isaac Peredes should have been playing 3B in Detroit, but they gave him away
for an often injured underperforming, more expensive Meadows?!
Scott Harris has got to do a better job than Al Avila in trading and acquiring players, knowing who to keep and knowing who to cut loose etc…
I can’t but think owner interference was a big contributor to many of Al Avilla’s decisions.