Javier Bez Update Gives Tigers Lineup A Much Needed Wild Card Boost.nam

The Detroit Tigers are dealing with one injury scare and getting a little relief on another front.

After starting pitcher Casey Mize left Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Angels with a groin injury, manager AJ Hinch said shortstop Javier Báez is moving toward a rehab assignment with Low-A Lakeland. Báez has been sidelined since April 28, when he hurt his ankle against the Atlanta Braves.

That absence has stretched close to three months, but the next step is finally here. Báez is expected to begin getting game reps in the minors before the Tigers decide when to bring him back. Depending on how many rehab games he needs at each stop, a return could come in August or even September.

Before the injury, Báez was hitting .256/.280/.397 with an OPS of .677. He also had two home runs and six RBIs for Detroit.

The timing matters for a Tigers club that has clawed its way back into the wildcard race. Detroit was once trending toward selling at the MLB Trade Deadline, but now sits within a few games of the final American League wildcard spot.

And if the Tigers can get Báez back, along with potentially Gleyber Torres, their lineup could get even deeper. Detroit has already been swinging it well behind players like Kevin McGonigle, Dillon Dingler, Kerry Carpenter and others.

Báez will likely need time to get his timing back after such a long layoff, but if he can settle in quickly, he could give the Tigers a real boost as they try to keep their playoff push alive.

In Other News…

Casey Mize Update Leaves Tigers Fans With Familiar Rotation Anxiety

Casey Mizes latest exit gave the Tigers another uneasy reminder of how thin the margin can be in a rotation built to hold up over a long season. The right-hander was pulled after 3.1 innings when a come-backer led to a wrist issue, and manager A.J. Hinch said the early read is encouraging enough to keep Mize in day-to-day territory, with the wrist expected to be fine.

The bigger concern for Detroit is the other part of the update, because Mize has already had to deal with groin tightness twice this season. The Tigers are planning further evaluation before they decide what his availability looks like for the next turn through the rotation, and for a staff that has already had to manage plenty of moving pieces, that is the kind of uncertainty that tends to linger.

Former Tigers Castoff Is Already Twisting The Knife In Boston

Jahmai Jones did not stay in Detroit long enough to leave much of a mark, but the Tigers still had to watch him move on after they designated him for assignment and shipped him to Boston for a player to be named later. It was the kind of roster churn that barely registers in real time, especially for a player who had been struggling to produce for Detroit since late May.

Then came the Red Sox debut, and Jones immediately made it feel bigger than a routine move. He was productive right away against a Boston club that has been surging, and the contrast with his recent stretch in Detroit was hard to miss for anyone who had been waiting for his bat to wake up.

Tigers Draft Class Just Shook Up A Farm System Fans Thought They Knew

The Tigers farm system got a fresh jolt after the MLB Draft, with Baseball America folding 20 new prospects into its updated top 30 and immediately reshaping how the organizations depth chart looks. Cameron Flukey, Detroits first-round pick, landed at No. 4, while Evan Dempsey came in at No. 8, giving the club a pair of newcomers near the top of the list right away.

Will Adams and Tyson LeBlanc also broke into the rankings, a sign that this draft class did more than just add volume. With multiple draftees pushing into prominent spots, the bigger question now is how quickly the Tigers can turn this wave of new talent into real movement through the system.