Javy Báez’s uncanny offensive improvements as outfielder are impossible for Tigers fans to ignore

Although we wish it happened under different circumstances, it only took Javy Báez eight games to return to center field.

Parker Meadows' poor performance in spring training had fans calling for him to start the season in Triple-A and for Báez to move to the outfield full-time, which would've given Kevin McGonigle a clear path to the majors. Of course, the Tigers found a way to include all of them, and to give them ample playing time before Meadows got hurt.

But aside from Meadows' struggles in spring training and fans really wanting McGonigle on the Opening Day roster ... Javy Báez is a very good center fielder.

He's a Gold Glove winner at shortstop, but he graded out as perfectly average there last season. As a center fielder? He was good for 3 outs above average. He got a starting nod in the All-Star Game as a center fielder.

His bat gets better when he plays center field, too. Last year, he posted a .715 OPS as an outfielder, his highest at any position. This year, though the sample sizes are still small, he has a round 1.000 OPS.

Javy Báez's offensive improvements while playing center field need to be studied

Báez had already started getting hot before his made his first appearance in center, but he hit his first home run of the season in the same game he made his first start there. It could be pure coincidence and a little confirmation bias, sure, but the numbers are already on our side.

He's only made two starts in center but has gone from short to center, or vice versa, in every game he's appeared in since Meadows went onto the IL. The bat's cooled down a bit, but we still have a while to figure out if this is a fluke or a real thing.

AJ Hinch is hopeful that Meadows will be back at some point this year, but best guesses say it won't be for many months after breaking his arm in that collision with Riley Greene. He'll probably need a rehab assignment if he is indeed out for that long.

Báez's move to center was a revelation last year because he took to it like a natural and made plays you wouldn't expect from a guy who had never spent even 1/3 of an inning there in his major league career before 2025. We definitely still need to see more out of him this year, but it's stuff like that that keeps pulling fans in, even when we thinking we've officially written him off.

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