Annual Javy Báez conundrum rears its head as Tigers contract gets close to expiring

The Tigers have never figured out how to solve a problem like Javy Báez. Before they signed Framber Valdez and extended Kevin McGonigle, the last time we them do any truly big-ticket spending was in the 2021-2022 offseason, when Al Avila signed Eduardo Rodríguez to a five-year, $77 million deal and Báez to his now-infamous six-year, $140 million contract.

Rodríguez is long gone by now, and Tigers fans are glad for it, but Báez is still kicking. It's hardly new information that his deal is one of the worst in the franchise's history and one of the worst active deals.

But something strange has happened since his All-Star 2025 began. Tigers fans have become ... somewhat fond of him?

We can pinpoint where it started, too. On May 13, 2025, with the Tigers down by two in the bottom of the 11th against the Red Sox, Báez hit a three-run homer to walk it off. The "Javy" chants that rained down at Comerica was a first for Detroit. He cooled off significantly after the All-Star break, and then was hurt for a large chunk of 2026, but given the injuries all over the roster, getting him back almost felt like a relief.

Now that we're approaching the last year of Báez's time in Detroit, the question we've asked ourselves almost every year since he got here is coming up again: Do the Tigers eat some of the money and cut him early?

Javy Báez's time with the Tigers is almost up, but should Detroit cut it off even sooner?

Báez was slowly rendered superannuated throughout the 2026 season. He was hurt for much of it, and when he came back, he was greeted by a lot of new faces and there were only more on the way. He and Gleyber Torres saw their playing time reduced in the face of McGonigle, Hao-Yu Lee, and John Peck's arrivals in the middle infield.

To his credit, Báez has found ways to make himself valuable — as it turns out, he's a pretty natural center fielder. But Max Clark's arrival complicated that, too. There's certainly still some El Mago left in him on defense and on the base paths.

Clearly, the Tigers have always found that eating the money remaining on Báez's untradeable contract was too much to stomach. They still owe him $24 million in 2027, but he's been pushed toward the fringes of a roster he was initially signed to lead.

The chances it happens this offseason are slim, but if the Tigers get deeper into the season and find that Báez is on the bench more often than not, they might as well clear up the roster space if they're not going to use him anyway.

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