Javier Baez Declined a MASSIVE Extension Offer
A lot has been said about the Chicago Cubs and their inability to get their core players to sign long-term extensions. The Cubs had openly negotiated with Anthony Rizzo, but they came in lower than his expectations. There were some conversations with Kris Bryant, but those talks never got to the point where an offer was made. We even heard about a long extension conversation with Javier Baez last winter, which resulted without an extension. Now ESPN’s Buster Olney reports that Baez turned down a massive deal worth in the neighborhood of $180 million.
“A problem for Javier Baez is that his poor ’20 performance followed a negotiation that concluded with him passing up a Cubs’ offer somewhere in the range of $180 million. Now Baez’s small sample of results in ’21 looks similar to that of last year and, combined, comprise a larger sample of questions and doubts about whether the team should replicate its past offer.”
Buster Olney ESPN
Baez was the NL MVP runner-up in 2018 and followed it up with a successful 2019 season, until he went down with injuries late in the season. But since, Baez has been mostly a disappointment at the plate.
Now, Baez is a very special defensive player. So special that you could put him at any position on the diamond and he’d likely be the best defensive player at that position. But, baseball is a two-way game and you gotta bring a bat to the ballpark.
- 2018 – 131 wRC+
- 2019 – 114 wRC+
- 2020 – 57 wRC+
- 2021 (14 games) – 87 wRC+
- 100 league average
What adds to the problems, Baez turned down a deal worth around $180 million and now the league’s top shortstops are earning deals in the $340+ million range. I have heard that Baez puts himself in the same categories as those Fernando Tatis Jr., or Francisco Lindor worlds.
We know he thought he is worth more than $180m (while years are unspecified) and we also know – barring a huge turnaround – the Cubs will not revisit that type of money.
For all the Cubs core guys, it makes sense that they have had the most success when talking with Rizzo. Baez turned down this offer. Bryant was injured in 2018 when their conversations with Scott Boras had heated up. The current front office isn’t willing to pay what KB is worth. But Rizzo has reasonable comps that can work for both sides, so a deal can be worked out.
