Tiger shortstop Javier Baez has struggled mightily to start this season, and those struggles rose to a swell Thursday night.
After getting on base in the second inning against the Blue Jays, Baez had a brutal mental lapse.
MORE: Do Cardinals have a Tyler O'Neill problem, or is it much ado about nothing?
With one out, Akil Baddoo skied a deep fly to center field, where it was caught easily by Daulton Varsho. Baez, however, had lost track of the outs and was nearly on third base as Varsho threw the ball back into the infield to double up Baez and end the inning.
Baez's body language says it all:
Javier Baez got pulled from the game after forgetting how many outs the Tigers had. 👀
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 14, 2023
Tune in to Sportsnet to catch all the action. pic.twitter.com/pDfcyFgCpC
Baez went back out to the field to play defense in the bottom of the second but then was pulled from the game in the bottom of the third.
The Blue Jays broadcast showed Tigers manager A.J. Hinch and Baez emerging from the tunnel connecting the dugout to the clubhouse, before Baez collected his glove and left. Jonathan Schoop replaced him in the lineup.
MORE: The Rays are 13-0, but what does that tell us about their future?
After the game, Hinch told reporters he felt he needed to send a message to the entire team.
"Javy happened to be the runner that made the big mistake where I made the move, but it's a message to our whole team that we've got to clean that up," Hinch said.
Baez told reporters his "mind is everywhere right now" and said he only forgot how many outs there were because he was batting sixth in the lineup.
"Anybody can make a mistake, but at this point, the way we're playing and the way I'm playing, it's obviously going to be worse," he said.
Hinch said Baez will be in the lineup on Friday.
Javier Baez contract
The Tigers signed Baez to a six-year, $140 million contract ($23.3 million average annual value) last offseason, the second-largest free-agent contract in Tigers history behind their signing of Prince Fielder.
A year-by-year breakdown of Baez's contract:.
| Year | Age | Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 29 | $20,000,000 |
| 2023 | 30 | $22,000,000 |
| 2024 | 31 | $25,000,000 |
| 2025 | 32 | $25,000,000 |
| 2026 | 33 | $24,000,000 |
| 2027 | 34 | $24,000,000 |
Baez can opt out of the deal after this season, although it's difficult to imagine him exercising that option if things continue as they are.
Javier Baez stats
Baez is off to a slow start in 2023. Coming into Thursday's game, he was hitting .100/.163/.100 (4 for 40 at the plate) with no extra-base hits.
MORE: Dansby Swanson leaves Cubs game with exhaustion after wife Mallory's surgery
Last season, Baez hit .238/.278/.393 with 17 home runs while also being toward the bottom of the league in whiff percentage and chase rate.
| Year | Avg | OBP | SLG | HR | SO | BB |
| 2022 | .238 | .278 | .393 | 17 | 147 | 26 |
| 2023 | .100 | .163 | .100 | 0 | 8 | 3 |
Plate discipline has always been an issue for Baez, but one thing that sets him apart is his baseball IQ. He became known as "El Mago " ("The Magician") with the Cubs for his ability to make something out of nothing. That ability isn't really showing through in Detroit. It seems as if this lapse on the bases was a boiling point for Hinch and the Tigers.
