President of Baseball Operations Scott Harris claimed utility man Andy Ibanez off waivers from the Texas Rangers on November 10th, 2022; this opened the door for Ibanez to have a career year while wearing the Old English. Playing in 114 games in 2023, Ibanez has been given significant opportunity to prove he has what it takes to stay with the ball club and take on the utility role in 2024.
Ibanez has set career highs in several categories, including games played, at-bats, hits, homeruns, and RBI. According to Baseball Savant, Ibanez also finds himself above average in several offensive categories:
xBA (76th Percentile)
xSLG (61st Percentile)
Barrel% (55th Percentile)
HardHit% (61st Percentile)
Whiff% (65th Percentile)
K% (77th Percentile)
In relation to some of these numbers, Ibanez Barrel% is the best of his career at 9.0% which is up nearly 3% from his 2022 numbers. With his HardHit% being in the 61st percentile, or 42.9%, he finds himself quite a bit higher than the MLB average of 36.3% and his K rate of only 18.0% is significantly lower than the 22.1% MLB average; further supporting that he’s earned every opportunity he’s received in 2023 and that he is capable of hitting at the major league level posting an oWAR of 1.1, according to Baseball Reference.
Conversely, the defensive side of the ball has also been surprisingly positive this season. Playing 5 different positions (1B, 2B, 3B, LF, RF) so far in 2023, Ibanez has posted a neutral or positive DRS and OAA at each position.
1B: +1 DRS, +1 OAA
2B: +3 DRS, +2 OAA
3B: 0 DRS, 0 OAA
LF: +2 DRS, 0 OAA
RF: +1 DRS, 0 OAA
According to Baseball Savant, these numbers have put Ibanez in the 82nd percentile of the Range (OAA) category. Ibanez has also posted a dWAR of 0.9, per Baseball Reference.
Ibanez has provided the best of both worlds in 2023; positive numbers at the plate while being solid defensively, not something Detroit Tigers fans have seen from a utility player in recent years. In setting career highs in a number of offensive categories mixed together with above average defensive play has Ibanez done enough to land a 2024 roster spot for the Detroit Tigers?