Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Báez will undergo season-ending surgery on his right hip, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters Monday in Chicago.
The news comes after Báez went on the injured list Friday with lumbar spine and hip discomfort. Báez returned to Detroit over the weekend to undergo further evaluation. The verdict was he needed an arthroscopic hip procedure.
The Tigers transferred Báez to the 60-day injured list Monday, making room on the 40-man roster for right-handed pitcher Ty Madden, who was set to debut against the White Sox.
The Tigers have announced the following roster moves:
– Selected RHP Ty Madden from Triple A Toledo
– Recalled RHP Mason Englert from Triple A Toledo
– Placed RHP Will Vest on the paternity list
– Following yesterday’s game, optioned LHP Bryan Sammons to Triple A Toledo
-…— Tigers PR (@DetroitTigersPR) August 26, 2024
Báez, hitting only .184 with six home runs this season, missed time earlier in the year with lumbar spine inflammation, something that also plagued him last season.
The injury is the latest misfortune for Báez since he signed a six-year, $140 million contract with the Tigers before the 2022 season. Over three years in Detroit, Báez registered just a .610 OPS. This season, his 41 wRC+ — an all-encompassing metric that measures offensive performance — is the lowest of any MLB player to receive at least 280 at-bats. Báez’s play had improved somewhat over the past month. Five of his six home runs came in his past 17 games, and he had a .785 OPS over that span.
Despite dropping his strikeout rate since coming to Detroit, Báez has struggled to consistently hit for power and has not lived up to the All-Star billing of his earlier days. In his return to Wrigley Field last week, the former Chicago Cub went 1-for-7 with four strikeouts in two games.
Báez has three years and $73 million remaining on his Tigers contract, and based on comments from the front office so far, it seems his time in Detroit is likely to continue.
“We are not looking to buy out Javy Báez,” president of baseball operations Scott Harris told 97.1 The Ticket earlier this summer. “We’re looking to help him recapture the ability to perform and the attributes that made him one of the better shortstops in baseball, because we could use that guy right now.”
Required reading
(Photo: Duane Burleson / Getty Images)
