Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Baez will undergo season-ending surgery on his right hip after struggling through another poor campaign.
The Tigers are still determining when and where the surgery will take place.
Baez batted just .184 with six homers and 37 RBIs in 80 games this season, his third with the Tigers.
“We’ve got to get him right,” Detroit manager A.J. Hinch told reporters prior to Monday’s game against the Chicago White Sox. “It’ll be a long process, but hopefully it’ll be a successful one.”
Baez, 31, has three seasons remaining on a six-year, $140 million deal with the Tigers.
He has been a major flop with Detroit with a .221/.262/.347 slash line in 360 games. He has 32 homers and 163 RBIs while striking out 341 times.
Baez was placed on the 10-day injured list on Friday due to spine and hip soreness, then was transferred to the 60-day IL on Monday.
“Getting him healthy is the No. 1 priority, for his own health,” said Hinch, “and obviously, to get the best player out of him, we need him healthy. It’s no doubt that it’s been a really tough stretch for him in his career and a really tough stretch as a Tiger, but it doesn’t mean that it can’t change. I hope for him — and for us — that this does bring some clarity, get him back to good health and gets him back to performing the way that he can and will.”
Baez was a two-time All-Star in seven-plus seasons with the Chicago Cubs (2014-21). He was runner-up for the National League MVP Award in 2018, when he established career bests of 34 homers and 111 RBIs.
He was MVP of the 2016 National League Championship Series as the Cubs defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games. Chicago went on to beat Cleveland in seven games to win the franchise’s first World Series crown since 1908.
The Cubs dealt Baez to the New York Mets at the trade deadline in 2021. After 47 games with the Mets, he departed as a free agent and signed with Detroit.
Baez has a .251 career average with 181 homers, 628 RBIs and 110 steals in 11 big league seasons.
Also Monday, Detroit promoted right-hander Ty Madden, who made his major league debut against the White Sox. The move involving Baez opened a 40-man roster spot for Madden.
Madden, 24, was a first-round pick (No. 32 overall) in the 2021 draft. He was 3-5 with a 7.97 ERA in 18 starts at Triple-A Toledo after opening the season with a 2.55 ERA and four no-decisions at Double-A Erie.
–Field Level Media
