Position Change of Star Player Shows Detroit Tigers Are 'All In' on Winning

The Detroit Tigers moved one of their most-notable players to a different position for the first time in his career, and that willingness to adjust shows this team is doing what it takes to win.

Apr 16, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Detroit Tigers center fielder Javier Baez (28) runs down a fly ball hit by Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Joseph Ortiz (3) in the sixth inning at American Family Field | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

When the lineup came out for the Detroit Tigers game on Monday, there was a surprising revelation about where one of their players was going to be lined up in the field.

While unique alignment and strategy has become a calling card of manager A.J. Hinch, seeing Javier Baez slotted into center field was one that caught the attention of the entire baseball world.

Before that point, he had never played in the middle of the outfield, let alone start a game there.

For his career, Baez has appeared in 835 games at shortstop, 320 at second base and 116 at third, only getting into three in left field and one in right.

But things are different when it comes to playing for this Tigers team under Hinch, and when the skipper wanted to put the high-priced slugger in the grass to play Trey Sweeney at shortstop and Jace Jung at third, Baez didn't blink.

"We're here to help the team. Everybody's available to help the team. There's many times here to play different positions, and we have a lot of guys that can do it," Baez said, per Jason Beck of MLB.com.

That mindset is the latest example of players on this team doing whatever it takes to win games.

Perhaps things would have gone differently in negotiations if Baez hadn't had his struggles since signing his lucrative deal with Detroit, but making this transition at this stage of his career is not something to look past.

"We're going to need you at multiple positions," Hinch said he told Baez during the spring. "And he was all-in, and I think he's taken it in stride because he saw that our team was winning. It was important for him to contribute, and this was the best way for him."

Baez isn't the only one with that mentality, either.

With Parker Meadows and Matt Vierling on the injured list to start the year, the initial plan that involved moving Colt Keith to first base following the addition of Gleyber Torres was tabled a bit once Spencer Torkelson began producing at the plate and Torres went on the IL.

To counteract the issues that stemmed from their injuries, Hinch has created a roster that is flexible when it comes to their defensive positioning.

Now more than ever, if Baez is going to remain in the mix, he needs to produce.

He's been doing that thus far with a slash line of .274/.318/.323 despite hitting no homers and only drive in four runs. But his batting average is the highest it's been during a single season since 2019 -- the last time he was an All-Star.

With Baez buying into the selfless messaging that Hinch is peddling, it feels like this team is pulling in the right direction together.

That's resulted in them sitting four games above .500 and holding an AL Central lead for the better part of the campaign despite being decimated with injuries in the early going.