Tigers' Javier Báez returns after surgery, plus more notes from spring training

LAKELAND, Fla.

Saturday morning, the black Lamborghini Urus was parked out on the curb in front of the Detroit Tigers clubhouse.

Thats the annual sign Javier Baez has arrived at spring training.

Thats the signal of a new chapter in a Tigers career that could make up the plot of a distressing novella.

Advertisement In Year 1 of his Tigers tenure, Baez was the star signing.

All eyes on him.

In Year 2, everyone wondered whether he could bounce back to prime form.

In Year 3, Baezs ugly decline left him hungry.

He talked of people stopping him at home in Puerto Rico and asking, Wheres the Mago that we used to know? Now, entering his fourth season as a member of the Detroit Tigers, expectations have never been lower.

Any production the Tigers get from Baez would be a plus.

He is recovering from a September hip procedure.

While Baez was on the injured list he played his final game Aug.

22 the Tigers caught fire and staged their run to the playoffs.

Baez watched the ALDS from inside the clubhouse and drove himself to road games in Cleveland.

It was very hard, Baez said After the surgery, I was working out like I was coming back for the playoffs, and I still had like four months to go.

Baez had the procedure to correct lingering discomfort that had plagued his hips and lower back for at least a couple of years.

Baez said he initially told the Tigers he wanted to wait until after the 2024 season.

The recovery timeline in that case would have meant missing the start of 2025.

Im hard-headed, Baez said, asked if he wished he would have had the surgery even earlier.

Tried not to get the surgery.

But honestly, it helped me.

Baez said he could feel a difference soon after surgery.

He was able to sit up straighter, feel more balanced.

The rehab, though, was grueling.

Tigers trainers came to visit Baez in Puerto Rico.

Baez spent part of his offseason working with the Tigers in Florida.

I really havent stopped working out, he said.

The slow nature of recovery was Baezs greatest hurdle.

But if the struggles of the past few years have taught him anything, its that he cant get back to his old self with one snap of a finger.

Advertisement Just (being patient), Baez said.

Thats the only thing that I have to do.

After the surgery, I wanted to walk when I couldnt walk.

It was just trying to figure out my mind and trying to slow everything down because I didnt want to rush it.

Baez arrived in Lakeland with the bulk of his rehab complete.

He said he has been swinging at 100 percent for two weeks.

He has yet to complete running tests but said he will be ready at any time.

Saturday, he fielded groundballs at shortstop and took hacks with his teammates in the cage.

His swing looks largely unchanged, but the thought is the surgery could help Baez rotate better and have more flexibility in his swing.

No one, though, is projecting a Baez renaissance.

After hitting .184 with a 46 OPS+ last season, the hope is just for him to be playable with three years and $73 million left on his contract.

His exact role remains to be seen.

There is a world where Baez could reclaim a job as Detroits everyday shortstop.

There is another scenario where Baez is the short-sided platoon shortstop, with Trey Sweeney or Zach McKinstry starting against right-handed pitching.

For now, Baez is waiting to be fully cleared but seems well on the path to be ready for Opening Day and the next chapter of this delicate play.

The game stuff is a small snippet of him people get to see, manager A.J.

Hinch said.

Hes beloved because of the time, the effort, the energy, the personality, the vibe.

Everything is awesome about Javy, and now the time has come for him to tackle some of the things hes got to get better at on the field.

Alex Cobb hurt again In December, the Tigers signed 37-year-old Alex Cobb to a one-year, $15 million deal with a full understanding of his injury history.

When healthy, Cobb has been a good pitcher.

He has a lifetime 3.84 ERA.

The problem is he has seldom been healthy.

Even despite hovering around the 150-inning mark for the San Francisco Giants in 2022 and 2023, Cobb has never made 30 starts in a season.

Advertisement Tough, then, when the Tigers kicked off spring training by sending out an injury report that included Cobb.

Soon before he reported to spring training, Cobb began dealing with hip inflammation.

He received a platelet-rich plasma injection last week.

The injury is expected to set him back close to a month, which means he will not be ready to pitch by Opening Day.

You just shake your head, Cobb said.

Its always like whack-a-mole right now for me.

I fix one thing, and something else pops up.

You give yourself a day or two to feel bad about yourself, and you get up and attack the rehab like you did everything else.

Can Kenta Maeda bounce back? Cobbs injury opens another spot in the rotation to begin the season.

Perhaps that increases the likelihood of Kenta Maeda reprising a rotation role after years 6.09 ERA and demotion to the bullpen.

Maeda worked with the Tigers to alter his offseason regimen.

A pitcher who for years would show up to spring training having thrown only one bullpen arrived this year with eight bullpens already under his belt.

Maeda also adjusted his mechanics, working with Tigers coaches to move more efficiently in hopes of returning to form.

Last year, to put it simple, it was very frustrating to not be able to contribute to the team or help the team in any way, Maeda said through an interpreter.

That motivated me to do better.

Somethings got to change.

Somethings got to change drastically.

Maeda has yet to face a live hitter, but the early returns are as good as you could ask for.

In his first bullpen session last week, Maeda was firing bullets.

His high-end velo in his bullpen was faster than any pitch he threw in spring last year, Hinch said.

Maeda said he will approach spring training games knowing he must compete to win a rotation spot.

Despite him making $10 million this year, the Tigers are not committing to Maeda being a starter.

Advertisement Im eager to see him go out there and compete, said Scott Harris, the Tigers president of baseball operations.

Im also glad to know that hes had success as a starter and a reliever, so that gives us options.

A brewing dilemma with Jackson Jobe? Rookie Jackson Jobe is also competing for that rotation spot, and he could force some difficult decisions.

Although Harris has said service time and MLBs Prospect Promotion Incentive wont play a role in whether Jobe makes the roster, these are things the front office must think about.

And theres an important factor to consider in the PPI, which is designed to reduce service-time manipulation.

For the Tigers to receive an extra draft pick, Jobe would have to win Rookie of the Year in 2025 or finish in the top three of MVP or Cy Young Award voting any time before he begins arbitration, which is typically a three-year window.

However, that player must also accrue a full year of MLB service to be eligible for the PPI.

So if the Tigers put Jobe on the Opening Day roster, all is well.

But if the Tigers held Jobe in the minors until, say, late April in hopes of adding a year of team control, they would run some risk.

If Jobe won Rookie of the Year but didnt accrue 172 days of MLB service, the Tigers wouldnt get an extra pick.

And like Paul Skenes last year, Jobe would still be awarded a full year of service time as a reward for finishing in the top two of ROY voting.

Should Kerry Carpenter face more lefties? It will be interesting to see whether Kerry Carpenter receives more at-bats against left-handed pitching this season.

Carpenter has yet to have his first sitdown of the year with Hinch, but hes already made clear he would welcome such opportunities.

I definitely want to and just ask him what the plan is and what I can do to get a little more opportunities that are available because I believe that I can do it, Carpenter said.

I had a lot of success off lefties in the minors (a .905 OPS versus LHP in 2022).

Its in there.

Its facing the same guys that I faced down there, up here now.

Advertisement The Tigers, meanwhile, will juggle competing realities.

One is that for Carpenter to improve against left-handed pitching, he will need reps.

It is difficult to justify those at-bats when Carpenter is only 24-for-119 (.202) in his MLB career against left-handed pitching.

His at-bats against lefties have been sparse more because of the Tigers matchup-focused style.

With players like Andy Ibanez (who had an .802 OPS versus LHP), sometimes sitting or pinch hitting for Carpenter simply makes the most sense.

But as Carpenter further establishes himself as one of the games best hitters against right-handed pitching, teams could also begin managing around Carpenter in different ways.

Hinch, in turn, might have to give Carpenter lefty at-bats to provide advantages for the right-handers in his lineup.

Are they gonna bring in pitchers in the fourth or fifth, trying to chase Carp out of the game? Hinch said.

Maybe.

Worth noting Dont totally count out Spencer Torkelson making the roster despite Colt Keiths transition to first base.

The Tigers seem serious about Torkelson having a chance.

He could DH against left-handed starters and get late-game at-bats against lefty relievers.

Alex Lange and Sawyer Gipson-Long are two injured pitchers who could be factors this season.

Lange, recently moved to the 60-day IL, could be ready shortly after his IL stint expires.

Gipson-Long has started throwing bullpens but must throw 30 to 40 before hes ready to face hitters.

Mid-to-late summer could be his target.

While Jace Jung has a shot to win a lions share of the third base job in camp, the Tigers remain consistently bullish on Hao-Yu Lee.

The prospect acquired from the Phillies for Michael Lorenzen had an .851 OPS last season in Double-A Erie.

Now playing third in addition to second, he will likely start the season in Triple A but could be knocking on the door soon.

(Top photo: Junfu Han / USA Today Network via Imagn Images).

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