Tigers to re-sign second baseman Jonathan Schoop

The Tigers are re-signing second baseman Jonathan Schoop to a one-year, $4.5 million contract, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports. 

A member of the Orioles, Brewers and Twins earlier in his career, Schoop signed a $6.1 million deal with the Tigers heading into last season. At his best, Schoop slashed .293/.338/.503 with 32 home runs in 675 plate appearances as an Oriole in 2017. Schoop, 29, has never been that effective in any other season, but he did do a nice job last year as a member of the Tigers, with whom he batted .278/.324/.475 with eight homers over 177 trips to the plate. However, the 29-year-old did have a difficult season by Statcast’s standards, ranking way below average in most important categories, including exit velocity, hard-hit rate and expected weighted on-base average.

The Tigers, however, aren’t necessarily pushing for a star at the keystone right now. For the most part, as a rebuilding team that doesn’t figure to push for a playoff spot in the near future, Detroit wants veteran Band-Aids to fit positions not occupied by younger players. Keeping Schoop seems to make sense for the Tigers, then, considering they’re guaranteeing him only one more season on their roster. Meanwhile, free agency has lost yet another capable starter at second.