Detroit Tigers Brutal Signing Has Turned Into Critical Piece of Talented Team

The Detroit Tigers have gotten some incredible production from an unexpected source this season.

Aug 20, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Baez (28) is recognized prior to his first game back to Wrigley Field before facing the Chicago Cubs. | Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images

The Detroit Tigers enter a new week of baseball with the best record in the American League and owning an incredible hot streak.

Their latest triumph -- a three-game sweep against a talented Baltimore Orioles team -- was marked with a combination of elite pitching and defense to go along with timely hitting and getting runs across the plate when it counts.

Through the hot start over the first month, and especially in the last week, not many have stepped into their role more admirably than Javier Baez.

The shortstop signed a mammoth contract with the Tigers prior to the 2022 season and has been a complete disaster since, largely being thought of as one of the worst deals in team history.

Entering 2025 after battling through injuries and performing poorly during 80 games in 2024, it felt like anything Detroit could get out of Baez would be a major victory.

Without any real depth on the left side of the infield and his ability to fill in at third, it seemed like a given he was at least going to be a part of the team.

How he would perform was an entirely different question, but to this point in 2025, Baez has answered the bell as much as any other Tiger.

Not only has he made a wild switch to center field in last last couple of weeks due to a crippling bout of injuries -- a spot where he has actually excelled in defensively -- he also is hitting at the highest level Detroit has seen from him since he signed the contract.

On the season, Baez is slashing .301/.346/.370 over 23 games, looking competent at the plate while still serving as a critical piece of the defense.

The last week in particular has been incredible for Baez, slashing .429/.467/.571 with six hits in five games and 14 at-bats.

On Sunday, he got the Tigers going with a two-run double that he ripped to left field.

Javy gets the party started! pic.twitter.com/fUqx4hS9vb

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) April 27, 2025

Baez has found a way this season to not just make himself valuable to the team with his glove, but also with his bat. He has started to show flashes of being the kind of player Detroit hoped it was getting when they handed him the megadeal.

It's too late for the contract to be salvaged as anything more than a bad signing, however, getting the kind of production they have from Baez thus far has provided a massive boost.

He is not the superstar he once was, but Baez has proven to be capable of being a quality player on this team, which is all the Tigers can really ask for right now.