The Detroit Tigers are turning heads again in 2025, sitting pretty among the American League’s elite just over a month into the season. After a Cinderella run to the ALDS last year, nobody expected this young, scrappy squad to keep pace with heavyweights like the Yankees and Guardians. Yet here they are, and a big reason why is Javier Báez—yes, that Javier Báez, the guy who’s been more punchline than superstar in Detroit until now. The 32-year-old veteran, once a Cubs hero, has flipped the script, trading his infield glove for a center field role and sparking a renaissance that’s got former MLB vets Harold Reynolds and Dan Plesac singing his praises. With a healthier body and a happier mindset, Báez is proving he’s still got that “El Mago” magic, and it’s giving A.J. Hinch’s Tigers a jolt they desperately need. Let’s break down how Báez’s move to center, his resurgent bat, and his infectious energy are keeping Detroit in the AL’s driver’s seat.
Báez’s journey in Detroit hasn’t been a fairy tale—until this year. When the Tigers inked him to a six-year, $140 million deal in 2022, they thought they were getting a franchise cornerstone, a two-time All-Star who’d hit .290 with 34 homers for the Cubs and Mets in 2021. Instead, they got a strikeout machine who batted .221 with a .610 OPS and 341 whiffs from 2022-24, including a brutal .184 in an injury-plagued 2024 that ended with hip surgery. Fans groaned, analysts called his contract the worst in baseball, and Báez himself admitted it stung to watch the Tigers’ playoff run from the sidelines. But 2025? It’s a whole new story. Through May 5, Báez is hitting .301/.346/.370 with a grand slam, seven RBIs, and seven runs in 78 plate appearances, a far cry from last year’s .515 OPS. His April 30 grand slam against Houston—a 410-foot moonshot off Framber Valdez—was a statement, and his homer-robbing catch against Jorge Soler on May 1 had Comerica Park roaring.
The biggest shock isn’t just Báez’s bat—it’s his glove in center field. A 2020 Gold Glove shortstop, Báez had never started a big-league game in center before April 21, 2025, when he manned the position against the Padres. Since then, he’s made seven starts there, turning what started as a spring training experiment into a legit role. With outfielders Parker Meadows, Matt Vierling, and Wenceel Pérez sidelined by injuries, Hinch needed versatility, and Báez answered the call. His first career center field start saw him go 1-for-3 with a run scored, but it was his May 1 robbery of Soler’s would-be homer that stole the show—leaping at the wall, glove extended, like he’d been patrolling the outfield his whole life. Statcast ranks him in the 89th percentile for Fielding Run Value, the best among Tigers, proving he’s not just filling in but thriving. “He’s made the adaptation to center field look awful easy,” Plesac said on MLB Network, and you can see why. Báez’s athleticism—those quick-twitch instincts that earned him the “El Mago” nickname—translates anywhere on the diamond.
What’s driving this turnaround? Reynolds and Plesac point to two things: health and heart. Báez’s 2024 was derailed by a hip issue that lingered for months, sapping his power and mobility. He resisted surgery, calling himself “hard-headed,” but finally went under the knife in August. The difference was immediate. “The day after surgery, I felt better with more balance,” Báez told MLB.com. Now fully rehabbed, he’s moving like the guy who stole home in the 2016 NLCS, with no back or hip pain holding him back. Reynolds nailed it: “The biggest thing is health. Javy Báez is a baseball player!” That freedom’s let him tap into his athleticism, whether he’s tracking fly balls in center or legging out a double, like his two-run, two-out rip against the Orioles on April 27.
But it’s not just physical. Plesac sees a different Báez mentally. “He looks like a happy baseball player again,” he said, and you can feel it. After years of boos and “bust” labels in Detroit, Báez is playing with a grin, feeding off the Tigers’ young, hungry vibe. His enthusiasm for center field—a position he loved as a kid in Puerto Rico—has been a spark. “I never ended my desire to play center,” he said after a spring training stint there, and Hinch loves his buy-in. “When you frame to Javy it’s all about winning, that resonates with him,” Hinch noted. Teammate Gleyber Torres, who lockers next to Báez, told The Athletic that Javy’s ability to block out the hate and stay locked in is “really impressive.” That mental reset’s showing at the plate, too. Báez has tweaked his stance—lower hands, more closed—to spray singles, boosting his average to .301, second on the team behind Riley Greene. He’s also cut his chase rate from 47.7% in 2022 to 36.1%, though his 25.6% strikeout rate and 4.7% walk rate show he’s still a work in progress.
For a Tigers offense that’s been sluggish—Spencer Torkelson’s hitting .220 with two homers, and Kerry Carpenter’s still finding his groove—Báez’s revival is a lifeline. His 0.8 WAR trails only Zach McKinstry (1.5) and Torkelson (1.2) among Tigers position players, a stunning turnaround from last year’s -1.1. Pair that with Tarik Skubal’s Cy Young-caliber arm and a lineup that’s starting to click (witness their eight-run inning against the Angels on May 3, a feat not seen since 1950), and Detroit’s 13-9 record feels legit. Báez’s grand slam and Soler robbery were difference-makers in a 7-4 win over Houston, and his two-RBI double in a 7-0 rout of Baltimore showed he’s not slowing down. Fans on X are eating it up, with one calling him “the heart of this team” and another joking, “Javy in center is like MJ playing baseball—unreal.”
The center field experiment isn’t without risks. Báez is learning on the fly, and with Meadows nearing a return, Hinch faces a roster crunch. Do you keep Báez in center, move Greene back to a corner, or platoon? Báez’s .360 average in his seven center field starts suggests he’s earning his keep, but his 87.1 mph exit velocity and 32.2% hard-hit rate are bottom-tier, hinting this hot streak could cool. Still, his defense and base-running—highlighted by his first stolen base of 2025 against Baltimore—make him a net positive. Hinch’s flexibility, honed by injuries to Vierling and Pérez, has turned Báez into a Swiss Army knife, playing shortstop, third, and center in six early appearances.
Detroit’s youth movement—Trey Sweeney at short, Colt Keith at second, Dillon Dingler behind the plate—is the future, but Báez’s veteran presence is the glue. His 2016 World Series ring with the Cubs, where he was NLCS co-MVP, gives him cred in a clubhouse full of hungry 20-somethings. The Tigers want to prove 2024’s playoff run wasn’t a fluke, and Báez, with three years left on his deal, is showing he’s not ready to be written off. Reynolds and Plesac see a player reborn, and Hinch’s “winning plays” mantra fits Báez like a glove. If he keeps this up, the doubters who called his contract a bust will be eating crow, and Detroit could be eyeing another deep October run. For now, Báez is back to being a baseball player—happy, healthy, and making magic in center field. Keep waving that wand, Javy—the Motor City’s loving every second.
