When the Detroit Tigers signed SS Javier Baez to a 6-year, $140 million deal prior to the 2022 season, I cringed. I cringed for a multitude of reasons, but the No. 1 reason was that I was not a fan of signing a free-swinging player who struck out a whopping 33.6% of the time in his previous season. After leaving much to be desired during his first season with the Tigers, the hope was that he would get off to a hot start in 2023. Unfortunately, that has not been the case as he is hitting just .100 in his first 11 games. During a recent interview, Baez stated the obvious.
Key Points
- Baez was signed by the Tigers to a 6-year, $140 million deal prior to the 2022 season, but his performance has not met expectations so far.
- He has been struggling with hitting, with only four singles in 40 at-bats in the current season
- Baez acknowledged that he needs to make adjustments to his pitch selection and stop chasing bad pitches
Javier Baez makes ‘no duh' comment during recent interview
On Wednesday, Javier Baez spoke to the media and he made a ‘No Duh' comment.
“I'm staying the same,” Báez said Wednesday at Rogers Centre. “Same routine, same thing. I just got to select my pitches better.”
“I know they're not really pitching to me right now, but if I keep chasing pitches, they're going to keep throwing them. I have to make adjustments. If I keep going out of the zone, they're going to keep doing it to me.”
Baez is correct. He is playing Major League Baseball, and opposing pitchers will continue to pitch him outside of the strike zone if he is going to continue to chase bad pitches.
Bottom Line: The Tigers need Baez to earn his money
The Tigers signed Baez to hit the baseball and that is not something he has been able to do. So far this season, he has four hits in 40 at-bats, and all four of those hits are singles. Though his strikeout percentage has been much better (18.2%), he is not hitting the ball hard and he is not producing runs. It's time for Baez to start earning his money.
