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Detroit Tigers' Javier Báez reacts to playing third base for first time since 2019
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- Detroit Tigers' Javier Báez reacts to playing third base for first time since 2019
LAKELAND, Fla. — Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch put Javier Báez in the starting lineup as the third baseman for Thursday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays in spring training.
This is Báez's first time playing third base since 2019.
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Is he OK with it?
"Yeah," Báez said Thursday morning. "I mean, I've done it before."
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Feb 28, 2025; Dunedin, Florida, USA; Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Baez (28) walks off after striking out against the Toronto Blue Jays in the third inning during spring training at TD Ballpark.
Báez is a shortstop, but the Tigers are giving him reps at third base in spring training to create more roster flexibility. The move could allow three shortstops — Báez, Trey Sweeney and Zach McKinstry — to make the Opening Day roster. The move also increases pressure on third baseman Jace Jung to secure his role.
Expect Báez to make the Opening Day roster because the Tigers don't plan to buy out the final three years, $73 million of his contract, but manager A.J. Hinch hasn't committed to Báez as the Tigers' primary shortstop in the 2025 season.
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The 32-year-old has fully recovered after undergoing season-ending arthroscopic right hip surgery in early September . His rehabilitation program concluded in late February when he played his first game in spring training .
This spring, Báez is hitting .250 (4 for 16) with one home run, three walks and four strikeouts in seven games.
It's an improvement from his performance in the 2024 season, when Báez hit .184 with six home runs, 12 walks and 69 strikeouts in 80 games, posting a .516 OPS.
"Is he the everyday shortstop? I think the answer is to-be-determined," Hinch said Thursday morning on WXYT-FM. "But I can tell you, today, he's playing third base, which is going to be new for everybody, but not for Javy."
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Báez, a Gold Glove winner at shortstop in 2020, seemed nervous — and excited — about playing third base in Thursday's game, doing so for the first time since 2019.
In his 11-year MLB career, he has more than 6,800 innings at shortstop and more than 2,100 innings at second base, but only 629⅓ innings at third base. His arm strength as a shortstop ranked in the 80th percentile last season.
Báez has been worth plus-7 defensive runs saved at third base throughout his career in the big leagues, along with plus-40 at shortstop and plus-16 at second base.
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"I just don't want to mess it up, to be honest," Báez said.
The Tigers have considered using Báez at positions beyond shortstop and third base in spring training, but aside from second base, it's unclear where else he might play.
Báez is interested in center field.
"One of my dreams is to play center," said Báez, who has logged 2⅔ innings in left field and two innings in right field but never any innings in center field.
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Here's what matters: The Tigers believe Báez and Sweeney can both make the Opening Day roster — and even play in the lineup together, with Báez at third base and Sweeney at shortstop.
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It's one of several lineup possibilities.
"There is room on the roster for both, and I'm going to play the best guy," Hinch said on 97.1 The Ticket. "That's been something I've been very consistent about at the shortstop position. It's to-be-determined how it's all divvied up, so to speak, but it's going to be divvied up by quality of play."
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Báez at third base in spring training
