Why I resigned from Detroit Tigers today” Javier Báez Announced……..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Javier Báez is signed for four more seasons in Detroit. Is there any hope?

MIAMI, FL – JULY 28: Javier Baez #28 of the Detroit Tigers looks on during the game between the Detroit Tigers and the Miami Marlins at loanDepot park on Friday, July 28, 2023 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Kelly Gavin/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

By Cody Stavenhagen

Nov 15, 2023

DETROIT — The day after the final game of the 2023 season, Javier Báez went to the airport and walked down the shining floors of Detroit’s McNamara Terminal alongside his wife. His children zoomed around them on wheeled suitcases. The $140 million player was largely unbothered as he and his family traversed a sea of fans and haters alike. A long and grueling season — the worst of his career — was finally over. Báez sat in first class on the way to Tampa, and when the wheels lifted, he was flying into what will be his most important, and perhaps most telling, offseason yet.

 

Only a few days earlier, Báez stood in front of his locker in the back corner of the Detroit Tigers clubhouse, closest to the shower. Báez undoubtedly has tendencies of a lone wolf, sometimes keeping to himself, wearing a black hat and black sunglasses. He isn’t always around when reporters are milling about the clubhouse. But perceptions of Báez still get skewed. Unlike others on the club over the past two seasons, Báez has never failed to take accountability for his poor play. If you can catch him, he will talk, and he will own it. And on this occasion, Báez seemed more frustrated and defeated than ever. A talented athlete at a loss.

 

“Right now I feel like nothing is working for me,” Báez said. “Absolutely nothing. Nothing hitting, nothing fielding, nothing baserunning. It’s just the way I’m playing, and I know I’m not the guy that you guys see out there.”

 

It was a rare glimpse into Báez’s internal monologue. He has played poorly and been booed by his own fans. He has failed to conjure the same magic that made him beloved and embraced in Chicago. Troublesome as Báez has been for the Tigers and their fan base, this hasn’t exactly been easy on the player himself. And as the 2023 season neared its end, Báez seemed as desperate as anyone for something — anything — to change.

 

“I think it’s more mental than anything, to be honest,” Báez said. “I know the numbers are not there. The confidence at the plate is not there. Every time I go to focus on my approach, I maybe have it for one pitch and then it goes away. I don’t know what’s really happening. It’s not about the strikeouts. I’m still going to chase balls out of the zone and stuff. I’m still gonna hit ’em, too. But I don’t know if it’s timing or I’m just not recognizing the pitch. Just trying to do too much, but I go out there and try every day and try again. Nothing’s working.”

 

When Báez signed a six-year, $140 million deal in what was supposed to be the biggest signing of the Tigers’ rise from the ashes of a brutal rebuild, the deal included an opt-out after the second season. The clause loomed as a way for Báez to get paid deeper into his 30s in the event he built on the strong second half he had with the Mets in 2021. But when the opt-out deadline came and went last week, there was little decision to be made. Báez was worth 0.8 fWAR this past season. He had a 88 wRC+ in 2022 and 61 in 2023. Báez did not exercise the opt-out.

 

The Tigers are now on the hook to pay Báez $98 million over the next four seasons. The deal has joined a short list of the worst contracts in baseball, a fitting heir to the Tigers’ forlorn extension with Miguel Cabrera.

 

Now that we know without any doubt Báez is going to remain in Detroit, a new question presents itself: Is there any hope this gets better?

 

“It’s hard when players struggle,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “Me as a manager or coach, we’re not mad at him. That’s the biggest emotional difference between being on the inside and being on the outside. We’re encouragers by nature. We’re trying to find solutions for him, but it’s hard. … He says he can’t see the ball and is not seeing the ball well. That’s not something that is necessarily a quick fix.”

 

The morning after the last game, Scott Harris sat on a stool with a microphone in hand and said what Tigers’ leadership has told us about Báez for the past two years.

 

“I’ve said this to you guys before and I say it because I mean it: the work is good,” said Harris, the team’s president of baseball operations. “The work is good behind the scenes. You guys don’t always get to see it, but he’s working really hard behind the scenes.”

 

That has been the line. That despite Báez’s frustrating play, despite the repeated bad throws and swinging strikeouts, the player himself is not disengaged. People around the Tigers indeed say Báez puts in more work than many may perceive. Much of it happens down in the cages, away from public view. At the same time, never do you hear anyone touting Báez as the model of work ethic. Rarely is he among the first players to arrive at the field. This offseason will test his work habits more than ever.

 

 

After posting a 91 OPS+ in his first year under contract with the Tigers in 2022, Javier Báez posted a 62 OPS+ in 2023. (Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty Images)

Unlike previous years, Báez is expected to split time between his homes in Tampa and Puerto Rico this offseason. The Tigers plan to send at least one member of their hitting staff to visit Báez this winter. He is working with a new trainer. There are plans for regular check-ins with the Tigers’ staff.

 

“I think there are some things that we can change about his work, about the specific things that he is working on, to make some adjustments that help him both at the plate and in the field,” Harris said. “But, you know, we haven’t done it yet. We haven’t gotten the best version out of Javy. We have to do that this offseason.”

 

Most of what we know about the Tigers’ plans for Báez in terms of specifics is vague. The plan likely involves tweaks to his swing plane or plate approach, information that could serve as a competitive disadvantage if the whole league could read about it.

 

Tigers officials say they still have faith in Báez’s physical abilities even as he ages into his 30s. This is a player who has long gotten by on his lightning-fast bat speed, a guy who could catch fish with his bare hands as a teenager in Florida, who even now switches a ping-pong paddle between his left and right hands during fast-paced games. But physical skills will only diminish as time goes on. That one is an inevitability. The Tigers, among other things, will look into minimizing unnecessary movement in Báez’s swing. There must be a focus on how to get him into a good hitting position in an efficient manner. If there is any hope for Báez, the artful magic of his swing may need to turn to the rigidities of science.

 

Then again, it’s not like this is the first time anyone has tried to harness Báez’s swinging tendencies or even simplify his mechanics.

 

“We have some things we’re going to share with him in the exit interview,” Harris said. “And we have some new ways we feel like we can support him this offseason. But it’s going to take organizational effort in Javy. The best thing and the best takeaway that we can have here from Javy is obviously he’s really motivated. … And it starts with that. We can’t get anywhere unless we have a real investment from the player himself in himself. We have that. We just got to find new ways to reach him.”

 

Dive into the numbers, and it gets interesting. Despite all the internet memes and the blatant chases on sliders down and away, Báez’s 22.9 percent strikeout rate last season was the lowest of his career.

 

His strikeout rates have been down the past two years in Detroit, despite the fact he still chases pitches outside the zone more frequently than anyone in the league. His whiff rate was in MLB’s bottom 12th percentile. But if there is one real marked difference in his numbers, it is his ability to hit fastballs.

 

Báez did much of his slugging damage against four-seamers in the early parts of his career. Now, with his power zapped, he hit only nine home runs last season. His barrel rate and exit velocities tumbled. He has been worth negative run values against four-seam fastballs in three of the past four seasons. And although he hit fastballs well in 2022, this past season he batted only .177 against four-seamers and .205 against sinkers. His .348 expected slugging percentage against four-seam fastballs was the lowest of his career.

So for as much as the down-and-away slider is commonly viewed as Báez’s Achilles’ heel, there’s more to the story. It again raises questions on whether his bat speed or ability to maneuver the barrel have declined with age.

 

“Being after 30 years old, he’s just got to adapt,” Hinch said. “And I feel like he can adapt to the challenges that are created by him getting a year older.”

 

 

(Baseball Savant)

If the Tigers could find some way to help Báez get the barrel on fastballs perhaps there could be hope. Despite a propensity for sloppy throws, Báez graded out well defensively last season and can still make electrifying plays in the field.

He has room to improve on defense, but the Tigers could do much worse than his glovework at shortstop.

 

In truth, though, there is little precedent for a player struggling so mightily multiple seasons into a free-agent contract and then turning things around for a multi-year period.

Some of the closest examples include Pablo Sandoval, who posted a 113 OPS+ for the 2019 Giants after having a 77 OPS+ over four seasons in a failed $95 million deal with the Red Sox, and Jason Heyward, who overcame a 68 OPS+ in 2016 and 84 OPS+ in 2017 to post numbers at or above league average from 2018-20.

Heyward then declined again at the end of an eight-year, $184 million deal.

 

Cody Bellinger and Christian Yelich also serve as recent reminders that a return to top-tier offensive production can be possible even after stark declines.

 

Báez, though, has long been a unique case. He is a player who so obviously relied on God-given ability at his peak. As far as we know, his struggles have not been related to injuries.

During his free agency, multiple teams viewed him as a player likely to age poorly because of his free-swinging, talent-driven ways.

The Tigers were able to sign him largely because they were willing to offer a longer contract term than other teams, guaranteeing Báez big money through his age-34 season.

 

Al Avila, not Harris, was the executive who inked that contract.

But Hinch was still the Tigers manager and flew across the country with Avila in pursuit of a star shortstop.

On the day the Tigers signed Báez, Hinch raved about the player’s “competitive character.

Hinch has confidence in his ability to wave his psychological wand on almost any player.

He traveled to Puerto Rico last winter and made headlines by benching Báez mid-game last season.

Báez and the manager seem to have established a mutual trust, but Báez has still challenged Hinch’s cerebral acumen as much as any player in his Tigers tenure.

Changing Javy Báez is not an easy thing to do.

 

Now the Tigers are staring at the consequences of a poor baseball decision. And now Báez is faced with the challenge of trying to salvage his enthralling career.

 

“Trying harder doesn’t necessarily satisfy people where the expectations are super high,” Hinch said, “but it does give hope that there are solutions out there and there are ways to surround him with a different way of doing things.

 

“Do I think we can just try harder again next spring? No, we’ve got to make some changes. I think he knows that.”