Tigers get promising injury update on Javy Báez following removal from Sunday’s game

The Detroit Tigers finally got back into the win column with Sunday's 2-1 victory over the Texas Rangers, but one of their most valuable players went down in the process.

Fans began to fear the worst when shortstop Javy Báez was abruptly removed from Sunday's series finale during the sixth inning and replaced by Trey Sweeney, especially when it was revealed after the game that Báez had been dealing with a shoulder injury for about a month that flared up during the game.

Fortunately, however, Báez said afterward that his removal from the game was more precautionary than anything and not necessarily indicative of a serious injury. He told reporters that he had suffered the initial injury on a slide against the Cincinnati Reds on June 14.

"I was just trying to figure it out," Báez said (via Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press). "I didn't want to keep playing with soreness. It is sore a little bit, but we've been doing treatment today, and we'll do treatment tomorrow, and we'll see how it feels."

Báez does not anticipate needing a stint on the injured list, but this shoulder ailment may be worth keeping an eye on – especially with less than two weeks remaining before the MLB trade deadline.

Despite promising injury update on Javy Báez, Tigers may be wise to plan for the worst with MLB trade deadline approaching

Báez has enjoyed a resurgent All-Star campaign this season, thriving at multiple positions on the diamond and becoming a major contributor to the Tigers' monster first half that saw them enter the All-Star break with the best record in baseball. However, this latest injury update – while supposedly not indicative of anything serious – could shed some light on his troubling performance of late.

Over the last 30 days – while playing through the injury, as it's now known – Báez has struggled through the worst stretch of the season. In 17 games during that span, he has slashed .196/.237/.304.

On the season as a whole, Báez's slash line is still an impressive .274/.308/.438 with 10 home runs and 39 RBI in 81 games. Even if he does avoid an IL stint, getting him back to full health and production is going to be critical for a Tigers team chasing its first American League pennant since 2012.

More Tigers content from Motor City Bengals