The Detroit Tigers are dealing with one injury scare and getting a little relief on another front.
After starting pitcher Casey Mize left Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Angels with a groin injury, manager AJ Hinch said shortstop Javier Báez is moving toward a rehab assignment with Low-A Lakeland. Báez has been sidelined since April 28, when he hurt his ankle against the Atlanta Braves.
That absence has stretched close to three months, but the next step is finally here. Báez is expected to begin getting game reps in the minors before the Tigers decide when to bring him back. Depending on how many rehab games he needs at each stop, a return could come in August or even September.
Before the injury, Báez was hitting .256/.280/.397 with an OPS of .677. He also had two home runs and six RBIs for Detroit.
The timing matters for a Tigers club that has clawed its way back into the wildcard race. Detroit was once trending toward selling at the MLB Trade Deadline, but now sits within a few games of the final American League wildcard spot.
And if the Tigers can get Báez back, along with potentially Gleyber Torres, their lineup could get even deeper. Detroit has already been swinging it well behind players like Kevin McGonigle, Dillon Dingler, Kerry Carpenter and others.
Báez will likely need time to get his timing back after such a long layoff, but if he can settle in quickly, he could give the Tigers a real boost as they try to keep their playoff push alive.
In Other News...
Casey Mize Update Leaves Tigers Fans With Familiar Rotation Anxiety
Casey Mizes latest exit gave the Tigers another uneasy reminder of how quickly a rotation can be tested. The right-hander left after 3.1 innings when a come-backer led to a wrist injury, and the immediate read from manager A.J. Hinch was encouraging enough on that front, with Mize considered day-to-day and the wrist expected to be fine.
The bigger concern is the other issue hanging over the start, because Mize has already dealt with groin tightness twice this season. Detroit is planning more evaluation before it knows what the next turn in the rotation looks like, and for a club trying to keep its pitching on schedule, even a short-term absence can ripple beyond one outing. [Read more 🡒]
Former Tigers Castoff Is Already Twisting The Knife In Boston
Jahmai Jones exit from Detroit was already a quiet roster move, with the Tigers designating him for assignment and sending him to Boston for a player to be named later. But the change of scenery has been immediate, and it has already given the Red Sox a jolt in a spot where they were looking for any kind of spark from the bottom of the lineup.
Jones made his first game with Boston count right away, collecting multiple hits early and showing the kind of bat that had been missing during his recent stretch with Detroit. The contrast was hard to miss, especially with the Red Sox rolling through a long winning streak and pushing into a playoff position while the Tigers watched a former castoff find instant traction elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]