Baseball is better when Javier Báez doesn't suck

Ever since signing a six-year, $140 million contract prior to the 2022 season, Javier Báez has become one of the biggest punching bags in baseball.

From 2022-24, Báez slashed a pitiful .221/.262/.347 (71 OPS+) with just 62 walks and 32 home runs compared to a whopping 341 strikeouts. His strikeout rate was significantly down from even his prime years with the Chicago Cubs, but he producing softer contact than ever and barely mustering competitive at-bats. He was, for all intents and purposes, a major liability to the Tigers.

It's telling that Detroit went on its huge second half run last year shortly after placing Báez on the Injured List.

It looked like the resurgent franchise — and, perhaps, the game of baseball — had passed "El Mago", the Magician, by.

But, magically, Báez looks restored early on in the 2025 MLB campaign. He's providing ample support on both offense and defense, lifting the 10-6 Tigers to first place in the AL Central.

Javier Báez is back, with help from Gleyber Torres

There are two players on this year's Tigers that are making $25 million or more: Báez and starting pitcher Jack Flaherty. No one has an AAV within even $5 million of Báez's $23.3 million figure.

There was almost no hope of the middle infielder living up to that status coming into the season, but here we are. The shortstop's chase rate is down to 35.5 percent, an almost eight percent decrease from 2024. He's batting .289 with a .710 OPS through 12 games — It has been more than three years since Báez posted an OPS over .700. Likewise, consider his 0.4 WAR, which sits well above last season's minus-1.1 mark.

Báez has credited new double-play partner Gleyber Torres for helping him alter his bad habits at the plate. Both infielders are former Cubs castoffs who know the pressure of needing to succeed on a playoff-caliber team.

Look at his batting stance from 2024 (first post) compared to his stance here in 2025 (second post); the difference is marked, as his hands are quieter until the swing begins, and his head remains on plane until the point of contact.

Even though he's not a full-time shortstop anymore, spending time in both the outfield and at third base, Báez is still a magician with the glove as well.

This is a guy who was once the most electrifying player in the sport. He was the 2016 co-NLCS MVP, the NL's MVP runner-up in 2018, and a consistent source of huge power and jaw-dropping tags. There was nothing like prime El Mago.

Is he all the way back? No, and that 2018 version of himself is probably lost to time, destined to be relegated to highlight reels and fan tributes.

But there's nothing like watching a confident Javy Báez play baseball. He's a smooth operator, and he makes the game that much more enjoyable. Here's hoping the changes he's made will breathe some new life into the legacy of the Magician.

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