Detroit Tigers manager AJ Hinch has spent the past week using Javier Baez as a defensive chess piece, moving the veteran infielder-turned-outfielder between left field and center field as the club fights to catch the Chicago White Sox atop the AL Central.
The shuffling began Thursday against the Cleveland Guardians, when Hinch made the surprising call to start Baez in left field for the first time in his career, according to The Detroit News. Baez, a Gold Glove-winning shortstop for most of his career, had played only two innings in left field before that start. The move was necessitated by an injury to All-Star left fielder Riley Greene, who landed on the injured list with a right hamstring strain after appearing in 117 of Detroit's first 120 games.
"He's all in," Hinch said of Baez before Thursday's game, per The Detroit News. "Javier is a baseball player. I don't worry about that part."
Baez had already made a successful transition to center field last season, even earning an All-Star selection at the position. But with rookie Max Clark now the everyday center fielder, Hinch turned to left field instead for the series finale against Cleveland, a matchup the Tigers entered tied at one game apiece, with both prior contests decided by identical 6-4 scores.
Starting Baez in left allowed Hinch to build a lineup with seven right-handed hitters against Guardians left-hander Parker Messick, sliding Hao-Yu Lee to third base, moving Kevin McGonigle to shortstop, keeping Gleyber Torres at second base and using catcher Eduardo Valencia as the designated hitter. Keider Montero got the start on the mound for Detroit in that game, according to Sports Illustrated, entering with a 3.75 ERA over his previous two outings.
Hinch explained his reasoning for choosing left field over right field for Baez, noting the position's proximity to shortstop, where Baez has spent the bulk of his career. "I don't know if it's easier but it feels easier," Hinch said, per The Detroit News. "It is an extension of shortstop and something outfield coaches have told me. But I was a catcher, man. I can't tell you if left field is easier or not. It does have the same angles and the same looks." Hinch added that he still has right field, first base and catcher left on the list of positions Baez hasn't played, though he made no promises about further experiments.
Baez was not expected to play left field for a full nine innings unless Messick worked deep into the game, with Trei Cruz and Ben Malgeri also sharing time in the outfield corners. Before the Guardians game, Baez took fly balls in left and capped his pregame work by tracking a ball to the wall and leaping to catch it before it could reach the bullpen.
That Guardians series also produced a notable milestone for Detroit's young infield duo. According to Tigers PR, cited by Sports Illustrated, McGonigle and Clark both reached base safely at least 18 times in their first 11 career games, making them just the second pair of teammates aged 21 or younger to accomplish that feat in the same season, joining Washington's Joe Judge and Horace Milan in 1915. Valencia, meanwhile, entered that game hitting .390 with four home runs and a 1.223 OPS across his first 15 career games.
The outfield shuffling continued into the weekend series against the White Sox. Baez did not start or make a pinch-hitting appearance in Friday's series opener, a 9-5 loss to Chicago, according to Yahoo Sports. But Hinch returned him to the lineup Saturday, this time back in center field and batting eighth, with Clark getting the day off. Detroit's full lineup for that game had Torres at second, Lee at third, Dillon Dingler at designated hitter, McGonigle at shortstop, Valencia catching, Spencer Torkelson at first, Malgeri in left and Baez in center, with right-hander Troy Melton opposing Chicago's Anthony Kay.
Baez's playing time has been limited for much of 2026 because of injuries. He entered Saturday's game having appeared in just 35 games with 123 at-bats, batting .285 with 19 runs, 35 hits, two home runs and 14 RBIs, to go with a .390 slugging percentage and a .700 OPS. The 33-year-old has been unable to log everyday reps, but Hinch's willingness to plug him into multiple outfield spots reflects both his versatility and the roster crunch created by Greene's injury and the emergence of Detroit's rookies.
The stakes for these games are significant. Detroit fell to 60-62 after Friday's loss to the White Sox but had won nine of its previous 13 games, keeping the Tigers squarely in the AL Central and Wild Card conversation, according to Yahoo Sports. Detroit trailed Chicago by 3.5 games in the division after Friday's defeat, and a pair of wins in Saturday's and Sunday's games would have trimmed that gap to 1.5 games with more than 35 games left in the regular season. If the season had ended after Friday's games, the Tigers would have held the third and final American League Wild Card spot, a half-game ahead of both the Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers.
The series also featured the return of right-hander Jackson Jobe, who threw five scoreless innings with four strikeouts in his first start in 14 months following Tommy John surgery, allowing just one hit while touching 100 mph on his four-seam fastball, per The Detroit News. Sunday's finale was set to pit Chicago's Sean Burke against Detroit's Drew Anderson, closing out a series with direct implications for the division race and, by extension, for how often Hinch keeps turning to Baez to fill holes across the outfield.
