I guess it’s only fitting that for a series in which I give every member of the Detroit Tigers, I start with the guy who is probably the most polarizing Tiger of the last decade. Before I get into my assessment of Javier Baez, I want to lay out one ground rule. The grade that I’m going to give each player is relative to the expectations that the fan base had for them. If you see me give Zach McKinstry a higher grade than Riley Greene, it isn’t because I think Zach McKinstry is a better player than Riley Greene. But we hold certain players to specific standards, and we criticize them if they don’t live up to those standards. I didn’t really know what order to put this in, so I’m just going to go alphabetically. Lastly, I am only going to grade players who had some level of impact on this year’s team. As is the case with every major league team, certain guys get called up and have a cup of coffee. My assessment of those guys is entirely inconclusive. Right, let’s get to Javy.
Before the season, one of the most common questions was whether or not Javier Baez was going to make it through the 2025 campaign. It was an extremely legitimate question. He was recovering from hip surgery, but that was only a small part of the equation. When Javier Baez played in 2024, he was the worst offensive player in baseball. He also had to watch from the dugout as his team went on a historic second-half run without him in the lineup. He was so pitiful that just by existing, Trey Sweeney was a spark plug in last year‘s lineup. Coming into 2025, anyone was better option than Javy. Looking at it now, it’s hard to imagine this team making it as far as they did if not for his contributions.
Despite his many, very apparent flaws as a player, the one thing you can’t deny about Javier Baez is that he has a flair for the dramatic. Some of the most significant moments of this season were moments in which he was involved. He was far away Detroit’s most consistent hitter in October. I would argue that says a lot more about what this lineup is lacking than it does about Xavier Baez, but he definitely deserves his flowers. At the beginning of the season, Detroit was down several outfielders, and Javy Baez got moved to centerfield. The fact that he not only played that position but did so at an elite level is a testament to his Athleticism. Yes, the All-Star selection was a little bit fluky, but the fact that he started the All-Star game in centerfield is going to be an answer to trivia questions for a long time to come.
Despite his turnaround, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows for Javier Baez. Yes, he was chasing out of the zone less than he had during his time with Detroit. But she remains one of the most free-swinging players in all of baseball, and you can never precisely predict what version of Javier Baez you’re going to get in any particular at-bat. His second-half numbers were completely pitiful. In fact, after June, his OPS was .540, which is right in line with where he was in his disastrous 2024 campaign. He benefited from the fact that his role had changed. No longer is Javier Baez being put in the three spot in the lineup and expected to drive in 100 runs a year. He’s the scrappy guy at the bottom of the order who can occasionally slap a base hit. Given his subpar understanding of the strike zone, I have a hard time knowing if his success is sustainable, but he’s going to remain a piece for this organization until the end of his contract.
It was an undeniably successful season for Javier Baez, both in terms of his overall production and how the fan base collectively feels about him. I’m still not crazy about the idea of him being an everyday shortstop next season, but he does provide a little bit of versatility and even some power at the bottom of that lineup. He deserves a ton of credit for the way he’s endured, and the guy was Detroit’s best offensive player in the postseason. However, as far as player assessment is concerned, I’m more inclined to pay attention to the large sample size of the regular season. This was far and away his best season as a Tiger, though I don’t see him ever really improving upon this campaign.
FINAL GRADE: B