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Detroit Tigers avoid arbitration with Andy Ibáñez, agree to $1.4 million in 2025
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- Detroit Tigers avoid arbitration with Andy Ibáñez, agree to $1.4 million in 2025
Andy Ibáñez is sticking around with the Detroit Tigers .
Ibáñez, a 31-year-old right-handed hitter who crushes left-handed pitchers , avoided arbitration with the Tigers by signing a $1.4 million contract for 2025, according to a source with knowledge of the agreement.
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Ibáñez was set to enter his first round of salary arbitration as a Super Two qualifier, as he remains under team control through the 2028 season. He is scheduled for three more years of arbitration eligibility before reaching free agency.
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Detroit Tigers second base Andy Ibanez (77) looks up during the Major League Baseball game between the Detroit Tigers and the Tampa Bay Rays at Comerica Park in Detroit on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024.
In 2024, Ibáñez hit .241 with five home runs, 15 walks and 63 strikeouts across 99 games. The Tigers value Ibáñez because of his consistent performance against left-handed pitchers and his multi-positional versatility.
He hit .292 with an .802 OPS in 154 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers. (He received just 90 plate appearances against right-handed pitchers, hitting .161 with a .407 OPS.)
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Ibáñez was responsible for one of the Tigers' most memorable moments in the 2024 postseason, which occurred in Game 2 of the wild-card series against the Houston Astros . He cleared the bases with a pinch-hit double off left-handed reliever Josh Hader to snap a tie with two outs in the top of the eighth inning, driving in three runs to send the Tigers to the ALDS.
The Tigers claimed Ibáñez off waivers from the Texas Rangers in November 2022 . He has a .255 batting average and a .709 OPS in 213 games in his tenure with the Tigers, from 2023-24. He was worth 1.7 fWAR in 2023 and 0.8 fWAR in 2024.
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On defense, Ibáñez has experience at six positions in his four-year MLB career: second base (1,039⅓ innings), third base (463⅓ innings), first base (249 innings), left field (105 innings), right field (54 innings) and shortstop (eight innings).
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Ibáñez — who has one minor league option remaining — projects to play second base and third base in 2025, starting against left-handed starters and coming off the bench as a pinch-hitter against left-handed relievers.
He earned $766,100 in 2024, meaning he has received an $623,900 raise as a result of his $1.4 million salary in 2025.
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Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
Listen to our weekly Tigers show "Days of Roar" every Monday afternoon on demand at freep.com, Apple , Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers avoid arbitration with Andy Ibáñez for 2025
