Cubs fans can't help but laugh as Tigers quickly wave off Javy Baez vintage moment

Javier Báez has been on a precipitous decline ever since signing a six-year, $140 million contract with the Detroit Tigers. A.J. Hinch has turned around the ship, punching Detroit's first postseason ticket in a decade, but it remains unclear how prominent Báez is in their long-term plans.

It has been a predictably slow start for Báez in 2025. Through five games and 14 at-bats, he's 3-for-14 (.214) with a .500 OPS and zero walks. Seven years removed from a 34-home run, MVP runner-up campaign with the Chicago Cubs, Báez is now clinging desperately to a platoon role, if that, in Detroit's lineup.

That said, we saw a brief glimpse of the old Báez on Sunday afternoon against the Chicago White Sox. Luis Robert Jr. attempted to swipe second base and was tagged out on a glorious flash of the leather from Detroit's 32-year-old shortstop.

Then, mere innings later, the Tigers did what was once unthinkable. After Tigers centerfielder Ryan Kriedler was pinch hit for in the eighth inning, Detroit did not sub in a new outfielder. The Tigers put Báez in center — the first time the former Gold Glove winner and 2016 World Series champ has ever played centerfield.

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Tigers give Javier Báez the cold shoulder after throwback moment at shortstop

Perhaps this is just a brief fluke. A.J. Hinch pulling levers as he tends to do. Or, more likely, this is a hint of change on the horizon.

Báez has already lost full-time rights at short. After years of elite defense, Báez's metrics cratered in 2024. His flexibility and coordination remains elite, but he's not moving like he used to. He is not a set-and-forget defensive stalwart, and the offense has mostly left him. That could mean Báez — and the Tigers — need to get creative.

We've heard Phillies fans clamoring for Trea Turner in centerfield for a year now. It's a common fix in theory, if not always in practice. Báez may just be a fringe rotation piece from here on out, but there's a chance for him to restore his value in a new position. Hypothetically.

He needs to wake up the bat and prove his mettle at an unfamiliar position, but Báez becomes infinitely more versatile matchups-wise if Hinch can throw him in the outfield. Detroit has never been afraid to mix and match pieces to their advantage. Hinch is a wiz with a lineup card. He's one of baseball's most inventive and forward-thinking managers. Mixing in outfield reps for Báez may be his latest innovation.

This is a sobering, perhaps humorous moment for Cubs fans, who were there for Báez at his very best. It's a bit jarring to see how far he has fallen down the ladder of MLB stardom. Báez gave so much to Chicago, so folks aren't rooting for his downfall, but it sure does seem like the Cubs got out of the Báez business at the perfect moment.