Detroit Tigers rumors: OF Angel Pagan will decide where to play soon

Angel Pagan is expected to make a decision where he’d like to play this season within the next day or two and the Tigers are among the teams that have expressed interest, ESPN’s Jim Bowden reported. (Hat-tip to Tony Orlando in our FanShot section, yes we read you.) Pagan hit .286 with a .324 on-base percentage for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic.

The 35-year-old hit .277 with a .331 OBP and .418 slugging last season for the Giants, making him an exactly league-average batter. He spent much of his time in the corner outfield, where he is slightly below average as a fielder judging by Defensive Runs Saved, but has also played center field routinely throughout his career. Pagan, however, was horrible in the outfield in 2015, combining terrible play with sub-par batting to turn in a sub-replacement season.

The Blue Jays, Giants, Padres, and Braves are all connected to Pagan, as well, per ESPN. The Tigers find themselves in need of an outfielder, er, if we’re honest, two, after trading away Cameron Maybin and losing J.D. Martinez to injury for somewhere around the first month of the season. Some combination of Mikie Mahtook, Tyler Collins, JaCoby Jones, Steven Moya, Andrew Romine, and some well meaning hopes and prayers leaves the Tigers a bit behind the eight-ball to start the year.

Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reported earlier in the offseason Pagan hoped to find about a $5 million payday, which would be a bit of a bargain as long as his 2017 season is more in line with last year’s than 2015. Whether the Tigers truly would want to pay $5 million, which would put them over the $200 million payroll mark, remains to be seen.