Jonathan

Schoop

Schoop signed a two-year, $15 million contract extension in August, 2021 and wound up hitting just .204/.248/.311 with 11 homers, 45 RBI and five stolen bases across 661 plate appearances over 186 games since the start of the 2022 campaign. The 31-year-old second baseman went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment earlier this week, but might be able to latch on with a contending team in a bench role.

The surprise with this move isn’t that it happened — it’s that it took so long for it to happen. After registering as one of the worst hitters in baseball during the 2022 season, Schoop has hit a cringe-inducing .213/.278/.272 with zero home runs and seven RBI in 151 plate appearances on the season. This move paves the way on both the active and 40-man rosters for Riley Greene to return on Saturday.

Nick Maton is playing second. This is Nevin’s fourth start in six games since he was recalled from Triple-A. McKinstry has started three times and Schoop twice during the same timeframe. Schoop, who is 5-for-25 with no extra-base hits, might not be long for the roster at this rate.

So far the Tigers have deployed a strict platoon at second base, with Schoop seeing two starts against left-handed pitching while Zach McKinstry has been in there for both games against right-handers. McKinstry is batting eighth against Hunter Brown and the Astros on Monday night.

The Rays scored in each of the final seven innings and tied the game with three in the ninth, but the Tigers were able to win it in the bottom of the inning. Schoop was 5-for-27 with no homers this spring coming into this one. The Tigers seem prepared to use him as their primary second baseman at the beginning of the year. They’d love for some team to make an offer for him, but Schoop will have to experience some regular-season success if that’s going to happen.

Schoop also went just 1-for-14 with a 6/1 K/BB ratio in WBC play for the Netherlands. Schoop’s saving grace during a miserable offensive season last year was some stellar defensive numbers at second base. However, the Tigers aren’t confident that he’ll match those without the shift helping him out this year. It wouldn’t be stunning if they released him prior to Opening Day and went with Nick Maton and César Hernández at second base.

Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press says it’s worth $1.5 million if he’s added to the Tigers’ major-league roster. Hernández had to see that no major league offers were forthcoming and smartly took a minor league pact from a team with opportunity for playing time. Jonathan Schoop is likely to get a chance to keep the job at second base, but he’s coming off a horrible season offensively. The Tigers also have flexibility at DH, third and maybe first base, depending on how Spencer Torkelson looks this spring. Hernández is coming off a tough year with Washington in which he hit .248/.311/.318 with just one homer in 617 plate appearances.

Schoop struggled for the overwhelming majority of 2023, hitting .202/.239/.322 with 11 homers in 510 plate appearances. It’s difficult to imagine he’d get anywhere close to that in guaranteed money on the open market. Schoop has had previous success, but at 31-years-old, it’s very possible his days of having any fantasy relevance are over.

Schoop led off the second inning by crushing the first pitch that he saw from Lucas Giolito for a 364-foot home run -- increasing the Tigers early lead to 3-0. That would be his only hit in four at-bats on the night. On the season, he’s still slashing a dreadful .200/.233/.324 with 11 long balls and 37 RBI in 476 plate appearances.

Schoop provided a valuable insurance run with a 386-foot solo shot off of Jimmy Lambert in the sixth inning, extending the Tigers lead to 2-0. He’s having an absolutely miserable season overall, slashing a horrendous .203/.236/.323 with 10 homers and 35 RBI.