Jonathan Hui-Imagn Pictures
By way of his first three seasons in Detroit, Javier Báez was largely a disappointment, with a mix of flashy protection and free swinging that yielded such diminishing returns that he sank under substitute stage whereas battling accidents final 12 months. He missed the late-season run that helped the Tigers seize a Wild Card spot, and as spring coaching opened, a full-time place of their lineup wasn’t assured. Amid a rash of accidents to different Tigers, he’s not solely cut up his time between middle discipline — a place he hadn’t performed in an everyday season sport earlier than — third base, and shortstop, he’s been a productive hitter thanks to higher well being and a few changes to his swing.
Even whereas going hitless on Friday and Sunday in opposition to the Rangers, the 32-year-old Báez is hitting .300/.336/.455 with three homers and a 127 wRC+. The peripherals underlying which can be admittedly shaky, and he’s strolling simply 3.4% of the time, however due to constructive defensive contributions at comparatively unfamiliar positions, he’s fourth among the many crew’s place gamers with 1.1 WAR — and he’s carried out it for a crew that has the AL’s finest file (26-15, .634) and largest division lead (2 1/2 video games). For the primary time in awhile, watching him is a complete lot of enjoyable.
The Tigers signed Báez to a six-year, $140 million deal in November 2021, after he’d cut up his season between the Cubs and the Mets (who dealt away Pete Crow-Armstrong within the bundle to accumulate him) — a robust one during which he posted a 117 wRC+ and 4.1 WAR. He was serviceable at finest throughout his first season in Detroit (.238/.278/.393, 89 wRC+, 2.0 WAR) however sank to .222/.267/.325 (63 wRC+) with 0.8 WAR in 2023, then hit simply .184/.221/.294 (43 wRC+) in 80 video games final 12 months. He missed almost a month in June and July because of lumbar irritation; the issue flared up once more in August, accompanied by proper hip irritation. Below the assumption that the Tigers have been going nowhere at 62-66, he performed his final sport of the season on August 22 earlier than present process surgical procedure. With out their highest-paid participant — a coincidence that was powerful to overlook given his underperformance — the Tigers went a serious league-best 24-10 and snatched the third AL Wild Card spot, their first playoff berth in a decade.
The street to Báez’s restoration started with arthroscopic surgical procedure on his proper hip on September 3. The process, which he had delay for a number of months, addressed each his hip and decrease again woes, which had factored into his 2022 and ’23 struggles, hampering his flexibility and his capacity to rotate throughout his swings. He started his rehab in the course of the Tigers’ run. “It was very arduous,” he mentioned in February, shortly after reporting to spring coaching. “After the surgical procedure, I used to be figuring out like I used to be coming again for the playoffs, and I nonetheless had 4 months to go.”
“Báez mentioned he may really feel a distinction quickly after surgical procedure. He was capable of sit up straighter, really feel extra balanced,” The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen wrote in mid-February, a degree at which Báez had been swinging at full effort for 2 weeks and fielding groundballs at shortstop however was not but cleared to run. Given the late-season emergence of shortstop Trey Sweeneywhom the Tigers acquired from the Dodgers within the Jack Flaherty deal forward of the commerce deadline, it appeared Báez could be restricted to platoon obligation at what had been his common place. Below supervisor A.J. Hinch’s plan, he must name upon the flexibility that he confirmed early in his profession with the Cubs to be able to discover enjoying time.
Báez purchased in. ““If I keep wholesome, I’ll do no matter, man,” he mentioned in mid-April. “I may even catch if you happen to want me. And A.J. is aware of it.”
By the start of March, the Tigers’ depth chart in middle discipline had taken some hits, with Parker Meadows identified with a nerve concern in his proper (throwing) arm and Matt Vierling struggling a rotator cuff pressure. Wencel Pérez emerged because the more than likely candidate for begins whereas these two have been down, however the crew additionally started working Báez into backfields scrimmages in middle, a place he’d performed as a toddler after which dabbled at in the course of the 2015–16 Puerto Rican Winter League season and the next spring with the Cubs. The late February addition of free agent Dexter Fowler curbed that experiment, and he wasn’t wanted to man the center pasture for Chicago, however the expertise wasn’t forgotten. After Báez made his Grapefruit League debut in middle for the Tigers on March 23, he mentioned“Actually, I by no means ended my need to play middle.”
When Pérez was sidelined by decrease again irritation in late March, the Tigers turned to light-hitting superutilityman Ryan Kreidler to be the crew’s Opening Day middle fielder. He began 14 of the crew’s first 22 video games there, with Riley Greene — who performed 27 video games on the place final 12 months and 199 from 2022–24 — making the remainder regardless of the Tigers’ choice to maintain him in left discipline given his harm historical past. Báez began at shortstop on Opening Day however made simply 5 extra begins there over that 22-game span, in comparison with 9 at third base (the place he hadn’t performed an everyday season sport since 2019) in a combination with Zach McKinstry and Andy ibáñez.
By that time, each Meadows and Perez have been on the 60-day injured record. On April 21, the crew recalled third baseman Jace Jung from Triple-A Toledo, optioned Kreidler, and gave Báez his first begin in middle discipline. To that time, he had made a couple of uneventful defensive cameos there and had hit a skinny .268/.305/.321 (81 wRC+). He took to the brand new place shortly; the over-the-shoulder seize included within the spotlight reel above occurred in simply his third begin on the market on April 23.
On the offensive aspect, Báez has gotten up to now by making important changes. He’s closed his stance, lowered his arms, shortened his swing, and lower down his chase and whiff charges. If he’s not hitting the ball all that arduous, he’s a minimum of squaring it up with higher consistency.
Statcast’s new batting stance information, which fits again to the second half of 2023, reveals Báez looking for one thing that labored however then abandoning it when it didn’t. He went from a stance that was open by 16 levels in 2023 to at least one open by 33 levels final 12 months. He’s closed that right down to 10 levels this 12 months, with the gap between his toes growing from 29.8 inches to 32.5 inches over that span. Notably, he’s additionally moved nearer to the pitcher, from a depth of 27.1 inches within the field final 12 months to 19.8 inches this 12 months, and his common level of contact has elevated from 4.6 inches in entrance of the plate to 9.1. Right here’s a comparability between late 2023 and ’24:
And right here’s 2025:
As for the place of his arms, Statcast doesn’t have that information, a minimum of not publicly. Under is a supercut of three extra-base hits from Comerica Park over the previous three seasons, chosen in order that they supply a minimum of a considerably constant angle for instance the way in which Báez opened his stance and closed it. However first, right here’s a trio of body grabs from simply earlier than Báez started his swing, illustrating how he’s lowered his arms over this timespan:
And now the video:
Báez isn’t swinging as arduous as he used to, and isn’t taking his quick swing as usually; actually, his frequency of quick swings is lower than half what it was in late 2023 or ’24. He’s trimmed about half a foot off the size of his swing, which as of final 12 months was in a digital tie with Giancarlo Stanton for the majors’ longest:
Javier Báez Bat Monitoring
Season
Avg Bat Pace
Quick Swing%
Size
Squared-Up Swing%
Blast Swing%
2023
74.1
45.0%
8.5
19.8%
12.1%
2024
74.8
49.4%
8.6
21.3%
12.4%
2025
72.1
18.5%
8.1
23.9%
11.4%
SOURCE: Baseball Savant
All statistics via Could 11.
By swinging from his heels much less, Báez has lower his swinging strike charge to a career-low 13.5%, down from 14.8% final 12 months and 16.7% in 2023; it was as excessive as 21.7% in ’21. In every of the previous two seasons, he chased 42.6% of pitches outdoors the zone, however he’s lower that to a barely extra cheap 37.2%, which nonetheless locations him within the fourth percentile amongst qualifiers. His 24.1% strikeout charge is on par with final 12 months, and whereas his paltry 3.4% stroll charge really represents a drop from final 12 months’s 4.2%, it’s not a profession low.
Together with his shorter swing, Báez is making extra frequent contact, notably within the zone, the place his 86.4% contact charge is a profession excessive, seven share factors above his profession mark. As I famous above, he’s not hitting the ball all that arduous:
Javier Báez Statcast Profile
Season
EV
LA
Brl%
HH%
AVG
xBA
SLG
xSLG
wOBA
xwOBA
2023
88.0
9.3
5.1%
38.8%
.222
.234
.325
.355
.261
.279
2024
88.3
11.2
7.8%
39.8%
.184
.222
.294
.345
.224
.264
2025
87.8
7.0
6.1%
35.4%
.300
.241
.455
.380
.348
.288
Báez hasn’t posted a median exit velo of 90 mph or above since 2021, when he accompanied a 90.1-mph common with a 13.4% barrel charge and a forty five.2% hard-hit charge; he offset that by placing out 33.6% of the time, however at that time, he was nonetheless an above-average hitter. Now, he’s hitting extra groundballs (a career-high 51.2%), however a minimum of when he does elevate the ball, his 21% pulled air charge can also be a profession excessive and punches up that batting line a bit.
As you possibly can see above, Báez’s anticipated stats aren’t far faraway from final 12 months. He’s trending upwards, in that since taking up the middle discipline job on April 22, he’s averaged an 89.7 mph exit velo with a ten% barrel charge, a 42.5% hard-hit charge, and a .304 xwOBA. If he may keep one thing in that neighborhood, he’d be positive — a fairly worthwhile participant given his protection (he’s already at 4 DRS and a pair of FRV in 136 innings in middle, for what it’s value).
How this can all match collectively when the Tigers’ different middle discipline choices are wholesome is unclear. Vierling spent the previous week on a rehab project with Toledo, homering twice whereas being restricted to DH obligation earlier than making his defensive debut in proper discipline on Sunday. He’s anticipated to spend one other week with the Mud Hens, checking off packing containers for back-to-back begins in proper and getting reps at third base. “We simply wish to slowly however successfully mirror what he’s going to do when he comes again right here,” mentioned Hinch on Sunday. Pérez and Meadows aren’t eligible to be activated till Could 23 and Could 26, respectively. Neither has begun a rehab project but, although Pérez is extra more likely to return in late Could, with early June a extra life like goal for Meadows. As for the present infield, Sweeney has been stable, hitting .254/.329/.365 (102 wRC+), and McKinstry has been higher than that (.274/.370/.395, 121 wRC+), whereas the not too long ago recalled Jung has struggled (.100/.234/.100 in 47 PA) and could also be susceptible to a demotion.
Given how skinny the Tigers have been stretched by accidents, and the way near a sunk price Báez seemed to be only a few months in the past, a crowded roster is a pleasant drawback to ponder. Báez might not keep his present tempo on the plate, however the truth that he’s making constructive contributions to a profitable crew once more bodes nicely for the Tigers.
