The Tigers are turning to Javier Baez in a new spot Thursday, and the move comes with a little bit of history attached to it.
Detroit is facing the Cleveland Guardians in the rubber game of their three-game series, and Baez is starting in left field. It marks the first time in his MLB career that he has started there, even though he has already shown he can handle outfield work in brief doses.
Before the game, Chris McCosky noted that Baez was ready for the assignment in a pretty emphatic way: “Javier Baez, who is starting in left field for the first time in his career today, just ended his pre-game work by leaping above the fence and bringing back a fly ball that was heading into the bullpen. Ballplayer,” McCosky reported.
Baez has long been identified as an infielder, with shortstop and second base as the positions he has played most often. But he has also logged outfield innings over the years.
In 2016 and 2020, he appeared in three combined games in left field, though none of those came as starts. He has also played one game in right field and several in center, which is where most of his outfield time has come.
The Tigers are dealing with the absence of All-Star outfielder Riley Greene, who is now on the injured list. Baez’s willingness to move around gives Detroit another option as it continues to look like a legitimate postseason contender, even after trading Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize before the deadline.
By Thursday, Baez will have done something no one had seen from him in a Tigers uniform before: take left field from the opening pitch. And in the process, he’ll add yet another box to a career that has already taken him just about everywhere except catcher and pitcher.
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