Will Detroit Tigers cut Javier Báez? Scott Harris: 'Not a question for the here and now'
Detroit Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris isn't even entertaining the idea of cutting Javier Báez.
He says it's too soon for that.
Báez, a two-time All-Star shortstop, is hitting .203 with one home run in 45 games this season, the third year of a six-year, $140 million contract. His OPS has fallen in each season, from .671 in 2022 to .593 in 2023 to .506 in 2024.
Are the Tigers going to eat the contract and move on?
"That's not a question for the here and now," Harris said Tuesday afternoon on MLB Network, part of an 8-minute segment with studio host Brian Kenny. "Right now, we are focused on trying to get the most out of him."
MATTY V: Tigers' Matt Vierling has always been team-first player, just ask former coaches
Báez already made $42 of his $140 million in the first two years of the six-year contract. The Tigers are paying $25 million for Báez's services in 2024, followed by another $25 million in 2025, $24 million in 2026 and $24 million in 2027.
The remaining commitment is $73 million from 2025-27.
"On the offensive side of the ball, he's going through some adjustments right now," Harris said. "He's on the other side of 30 right now, but it doesn't make him old. He still has that fast twitch. He still has that athleticism. We just got to find a way to help him make some adjustments to get back to barreling balls and punishing mistakes like he did in a (Chicago) Cubs uniform, back a few years ago. We're focused on trying to help him make adjustments right now and try to put him in a position to help us win games."
[ MUST LISTEN: Make "Days of Roar" your go-to Detroit Tigers podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ]
Báez has been terrible on offense, but he is hitting .344 (11-for-32) in his past eight games. During this stretch, he has provided five doubles and 10 RBIs while grounding into four double plays.
Surprisingly, Báez is elite with runners in scoring position.
He is hitting .405 with a .985 OPS in 41 plate appearances in those situations this season. He had the same type of success last season, hitting .312 with .829 in 122 plate appearances with runners in scoring position.
Báez is worth zero defensive runs saved and minus-2 outs above average at shortstop, though he has improved his throwing accuracy from the past two seasons.
"He's really an asset for us defensively," Harris said. "We have a lot of pitchers that put the ball on the ground, especially in our bullpen, and we really rely on him to make the plays behind them. He made some really nice plays over the last week or so that helped us."
Báez signed with the Tigers in December 2021 under former general manager Al Avila.
What Scott Harris said about...
Left-hander Tarik Skubal, who has a 2.25 ERA with 10 walks and 72 strikeouts across 60 innings in 10 starts: "Tarik has done a lot of things behind the scenes. He has developed a new changeup that is a real weapon for him, and he has the right mentality on the mound. He's absolutely fearless. He's going to go right after every hitter with his best shapes, and he is going to keep putting the pressure on the hitters. He's not the only one. I think, in this organization, we are pitching a lot differently than we have as recently as a year and a half ago. We're really proud of our pitching development, and we got a lot more coming along the way in the minor leagues right now."
MORE ON SKUBAL: How Tigers' Tarik Skubal matured into an Opening Day ace with Cy Young potential
Right-hander Jack Flaherty, who has a 3.84 ERA with nine walks and 81 strikeouts across 61 innings in 10 starts: "All the credit goes to Jack. He put in all the work. Really early in free agency last year, we identified Jack as a guy with some latent ability, a guy who has had some success in the past, but there are some things we felt like we could help him with to reach another level of performance. We engaged with Jack really early. We started to learn the things that he thought he did really well, but also the adjustments that he thought he could make. Together, we developed a plan for him, brought him to spring training early, and he just hit the ground running. He's attacked every single thing we've wanted him to do with his pitching mechanics, his shapes, how he's attacking hitters. The proof is in his performance right now. I think he's punching 33% of hitters and walking 4%. It's really hard to get better than that at this level against world-class hitters, so we're really proud of him. We felt like it was a great organizational win for us to target him in free agency, meet him where he is and help him reach another gear. We're really, really excited when he takes the ball for us every five days."
MORE ABOUT FLAHERTY: It's all coming together for Tigers' Jack Flaherty thanks to unlocked slider
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
Listen to our weekly Tigers show "Days of Roar" every Monday afternoon on demand at freep.com, Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers releasing Javier Báez 'not a question ... here and now'
