Javier Báez is turning into star player Detroit Tigers once expected

The Den
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Figured Javy deserves his own thread with his performance this season.

# Javier Báez is turning into star player Detroit Tigers once expected
Full article at Link.

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Maybe it’s time to move him up in the batting order.
“Would you touch what he’s doing right now?” Hinch asked.

Probably not.
“Me neither,” Hinch said.

He paused.
“I’m going to move him up to the eight-hole tomorrow,” Hinch said, smiling.

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Báez started in center field for the first time April 21. A few weeks later, he already grades out as one of the best center fielders in baseball.

“I’ve been trying to play center field all my career,” said Báez, a Gold Glove shortstop worth plus-4 defensive runs saved through 156 innings in center field. “I knew I was going to be really good at it because that was my natural position when I was a kid.”

“Let them hit it out there,” Báez added. "I will catch it.

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Not only did Báez hit a three-run home run in the 11th inning, but he also hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning. And it’s not just that Báez had a big game — he’s in the midst of a career renaissance once thought to be impossible.

At the same time, the Tigers (28-15) own the best record in the American League and are tied with the New York Mets for the best record in MLB.

Báez, a 32-year-old shortstop who has suddenly evolved into an elite center fielder, is hitting .319 with an .870 OPS in 34 games this season, leading the Tigers in both categories. It’s a staggering turnaround for a player who, over the past two seasons, was statistically the worst hitter in the big leagues, including a .184 batting average with a .516 OPS in 80 games last season.

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Different Freep article; Harris on Baez:

Scott Harris on Javier Báez’s play in center field

Detroit Tigers center fielder Javier Baez runs down a fly ball hit by Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Joseph Ortiz in the sixth inning at American Family Field on Wednesday, April 16, 2025 in Milwaukee.

Harris was asked about how Báez has become the Tigers current primary option in center field:

“Defensively, we lost three center fielders in spring training,” he said. “So we had to think of anything, we had to be really creative. And from the moment we threw him out there, we thought, ‘Hey, this guy is getting really good jumps, really good reads, his route efficiency is really high, this guy can really play the position.’”

Harris also said that Báez is playing more “free and loose,” noting that the lowered expectations have brought out a more effective player:

“When he signed here, I think he expected that he had to be the guy here,” he said. “He doesn’t have to be the guy for us, he just has to find ways to contribute in the box, on the field, on the basepaths, even just by a tag, or something like that. And he can do it.”

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He smoked that pitch in the 11th. catcher knew it was gone by the sound coming off the bat

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Great articles. Didn’t realize Javi was originally a CF, nor that he’s one of the leading defensive CF’s. Wow, I guess moving him to 3B when Parker comes back isn’t as logical as we thought. @Weaselpuppy ?

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I’m struggling to find a player who’s had such a dramatic turnaround as Baez has. I give him credit for changing his batting stance after a decade in the league. It’s paid off. The hitting coaches have done a tremendous job with these young fellas. It’s good to have a successful baseball team to get us through until September.

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I don’t follow the Tigers like many here do, but getting production out of Javy feels like free money.

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I would have lost my house if you told me that he would be this good. I would have bet it all he wouldnt be. Dear lord. Love to see it.

0.319 Avg. 0.246 K% 0.870 OPS (145 OPS+) 2.0 WAR +20 DRS/Y!

Thats WELLLL above average. I would have been happy with just slightly below average.

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From the News on Baez, including some things I don’t I was aware of; Baez played center way in the past.

# Niyo: Báez’s crazy comeback story adds another chapter with Tigers
Full article at Link.

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Báez, meanwhile, was surprisingly eager for a shot at the position he grew up playing in Puerto Rico. He’d flirted with the idea earlier in his career in Chicago. But by mid-April this season, the former Gold Glove shortstop — the guy who’d earned the nickname “El Mago” for his infield wizardry — was flashing the leather in center field for the Tigers. And as Hinch notes, his willingness to do whatever was asked of him, particularly at the low point of his decorated 12-year MLB career, speaks volumes about his true value here.

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“It’s easy to get young guys to be hungry and thirsty to be in the big leagues,” Hinch said. “But this dude’s got a Gold Glove. This guy has been a world champion. He has been the center focus of a team before. And he’s, like, ‘Sure, I’ll do it.’ That is priceless.”

And this is production: Entering Tuesday’s game, Báez’s 1.2 WAR ranked third among the Tigers’ position players, and he’s already credited with four defensive runs saved in center field.

The freedom he has found in the outfield is also evident in the batter’s box, as the hip surgery has improved his flexibility and allowed him to move more naturally. Báez says he feels it in the way he’s able to load and shift his weight at the plate, and you can see it some of the adjustments he has made as well, from closing his stance to shortening an extremely long swing. (He’s even chasing pitches outside the strike zone just a little bit less than he was the past two seasons in Detroit.)

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“I see a more comfortable Javier Báez,” said Pedro Martinez, the Hall of Fame pitcher who now works as a TBS analyst. “I see a guy that’s now … from a guy that was left behind in everything that Detroit had for the future to a guy that might be the X-factor for the Detroit Tigers. His bat has come around. His physical body seems to be in the best shape ever. His mental approach to the game has changed. … All the negativity that was around seems to have gone away. And that’s what I love. When Javy Báez is like that, Javy Báez can help any team and be a difference-maker.”

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Sounds like the hip surgery and Torres addition have been beneficial for him in different ways.

Also sounds like his teammates and staff love the guy as a person and teammate.

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This is the Javy I thought we would be getting when we signed him.

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Nah, he still plays 3rd and SS when Sweeney has a day off. CF when Meadows sits. If Meadows has a distinct platoon differential, then they may choose to play him against his strong side only, opening a fow mor games in Cf for Baez.

Edit- Meadows seems to be fairly platoon neutral as far as his output though he has been played primarily as the strong side part of the Platoon. So I can see them playing Javi against lefties in Center and against righties at third base

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makes alot of sense.

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I was ready to cut bait and just eat the 30mil. So happy to be wrong.

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Everyone was… The Baez hate in threads last year was Matt Patricia level. Lol I mean he was the worst hitter in baseball

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Getting love from everywhere, he has to be leading candidate for comeback player of the year.

https://x.com/JeffPassan/status/1922479111445905625

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This makes me think playing SS was a bit too much for him mentally.

My wife coaches HS softball and she sees it all the time that when a player is comfortable in the defensive position they are playing the hit much better.

Maybe Baez has only played SS because he could but it was not the position he loves playing.

I was also in the cut this sucker loose as it felt like it would be addition by subtraction.

Stories like these remind me that we have to always leave room for people to change. That what is true today is not set in stone to be true tomorrow.

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Perhaps, I still think the injury has been the biggest issue for him and dealing with it longer than we think.

But your wife is spot on with how one impacts the other.

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I mean it is possible about the injury. But his pitch selection was bad from day 1. He must of had 100+ strikeouts on pitches he could never hit outside tghe zone by 6 inches. He was like Lance Parrish and the outside slider/curve…only somehow he was worse than Lance.

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Indeed. It actually WAS addition by subtraction last year; he watched our second half renassaince without a single AB while injured.

Let’s not forget about Gleybor’s influence here. Regarding pitch selection, somehow he got through to him when others couldn’t. I suspect Gleybor told him what it looked like from the other side, and this seemed to really connect with Javy. Alternatively, maybe Javy was just finally READY to listen. Whatever it was, Gleybor is a force multiplier here.

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It is amazing how powerful and important coaching is at all levels. I used to think the following:

HS Sports- 90% Coach 10% talent
College sports 50% coach 50% talent
Pros - 20% coaching 80% talent

I am now convinced it is about 80-20 at all levels. Leadership is and will always be the key to success.