Tigers' Casey Mize, Javy Báez set to undergo MRIs after cursed night vs. Braves

Things went from bad to worse in a hurry on Tuesday night. Casey Mize was looking to build on a great start to the season for the Tigers and pitched two scoreless innings against the Braves before giving up back-to-back doubles in the third. Drake Baldwin sent a soft grounder down the first base line, which Mize fielded cleanly for the first out.

And then he was coming out of the game, accompanied by a trainer, in a blink-and-you-miss-it moment. Brant Hurter came out of the bullpen.

An inning and some change later, Javy Báez grounded out to shortstop Mauricio Dubón, then had the bright idea to try to slide into first to dodge Matt Olson's tag. His foot folded under him, and he stayed down for some time before eventually being carted off the field.

Both are scheduled to undergo MRIs ahead of Wednesday's game. Mize said after the eventual 5-2 Tigers loss, "I feel pretty good about things — as good as you can. [...] The tests we've done so far see pretty positive, but tomorrow, we'll have, literally, a much clearer picture on what we're looking at."

Báez said, "I feel much better than after it happened with all the treatment I got here. We're set up to get an MRI tomorrow. We'll see what's going to happen. I can put pressure on my ankle now. It's feeling better."

Casey Mize, Javy Báez provide optimistic updates after scary incidents during Tigers-Braves opener

The Tigers broadcast provided an in-game update on Mize — groin discomfort — and it was obvious what happened to Báez. Evan Woodbery of MLive shared video of Mize during his second inning, maybe wincing in pain as he came out of his delivery and then stretching on the mound during an ABS delay.

While it's good that both players sound optimistic right now, the Tigers will surely be preparing for the worst. Sawyer Gipson-Long and Ty Madden are the most obvious candidates to replace Mize, though Enmanuel De Jesus could also get a second chance.

Options for Báez are less than ideal. The Tigers don't have a healthy utility player stashed in Triple-A — Trei Cruz is on the IL — so they'd have to decide whether to bring up an infielder or outfielder. Former top prospect Gage Workman could get his first major league appearance with the Tigers, or veteran Corey Julks could be rewarded for a hot start in Toledo.

Of course, the best-case scenario is that taking Mize out was precautionary and that Báez was in a lot of pain initially but isn't suffering an underlying injury. We'll keep our fingers crossed.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow