Two-Time All-Star Infielder Javier Báez Placed on 60-Day IL, Ending His Season

Another poor campaign is ending early for Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Báez, who will undergo season-ending surgery on his right hip.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch confirmed the news with reporters on Monday in Chicago.

Báez went on the injured list Friday with lumbar spine and hip discomfort. He returned to Detroit over the weekend to undergo further evaluation. The verdict was he needed an arthroscopic hip procedure.

“We’ve got to get him right,” Detroit manager A.J. Hinch told reporters before Monday’s game against the Chicago White Sox. “It’ll be a long process, but hopefully it’ll be a successful one.”

Báez, who has a batting average of just .184 and six home runs this season, previously missed time due to lumbar spine inflammation—a condition that also affected him last season.

The 31-year-old has had his tenure with the Tigers plagued by injuries. He has three seasons remaining on a six-year, $140 million deal with the team.

Detroit signed Báez after he was highly successful in parts of eight seasons with the Chicago Cubs and one partial season with the New York Mets. His stint with the Tigers has been nothing but a disappointment.

In parts of three seasons in Detroit, Báez has a .221/.262/.347 slash line in 360 games. He has 32 homers and 163 runs batted in while striking out 341 times.

“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 has a .251 career average with 181 homers, 628 RBIs, and 110 steals in parts of 11 big league seasons.

The middle infielder was a two-time All-Star during his seven-plus seasons with the Chicago Cubs (2014-21). In 2018, he was the runner-up for the National League MVP Award after setting career highs with 34 home runs and 111 RBIs.

He earned MVP honors in the 2016 National League Championship Series, where the Cubs defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games. Chicago went on to win the World Series in seven games against Cleveland, securing the franchise’s first championship since 1908.

In 2021, the Cubs traded Baez to the New York Mets at the trade deadline. After 47 games with the Mets, he left as a free agent and signed with the Detroit Tigers.