In the early 2010s, the Detroit Tigers were one of the best teams in Major League Baseball. They were the kings of the AL Central, and they came close to winning a World Series multiple times. Then the Tigers fell off the face of the earth. It has been a long time since they made it to the playoffs, but with AJ Hinch as their manager, they have their eyes set on the prize. The Tigers are looking for a big season, and they will need the help of their shortstop, Javier Baez.
The Tigers signed Javier Baez hoping that he could be the next superstar in Detroit. It hasn't really panned out so far. Baez still makes his flashy plays at short, but he particularly struggles on the offensive side of the game. AJ Hinch knows that this is a big year for him.
“We need Javi to be good, you know, I think his offseason has been productive,” Hinch said to Jon Heyman during a recent appearance on New York Post Sports. “We've sent some coaches down to Puerto Rico, to check in on him and we sent a trainer down there. He's done his workouts. He looks like he's in good shape. I'm going to see him in a couple of weeks. He's been interactive in the offseason. He knows it's a big spot. Because when you look at somebody who's as talented as Javi and then you look back at last year, where he started to slide down the order, play him a ton down the stretch just so he could mentally clear his mind. We're looking for a bounce back year from him. There are stretches during these couple of years in Detroit, where he's been incredible. Those get sort of, you know, glossed over whenever you have the type of seasons that he's had, but he's still as talented as you referenced. We do see him as a big part of what we're doing and hopefully as we've surrounded him with, you know, another veteran in Mark Canha or you know, as I said Tork (Spencer Torkelson) and (Riley) Green and Carp (Kerry Carpenter) and Jake Rogers all evolving into major leaguers. hat's going to help ease his his responsibility, he doesn't have to bat fourth, he doesn't have to be the El Mago that he was in Chicago, we just need a good version of him.”
One thing that could help the Tigers and Javier Baez is the recent hire of Joey Cora. Cora should be able to provide a lot of good coaching to the infielders as he brings in a lot of experience, and Hinch is excited about it.
“Part of the the the number one reason we hired Joey is he's tremendous,” Hinch said. “He's a really good coach. He's a veteran coach. He's been there, he's won. I liked some of the old school teachings where he's, you know, he is pure coach all the way but yet he's evolved to be actually pretty progressive. You know, when you look at someone who's been in the game for a long time we make a terrible judgment sometimes that they're sort of stuck in their ways or they're old school and Joey is an incredible blend. So I've been trying to hire Joey Cora for a number of years and it happens to coincide now with, you know, his relationship with Javi is good. He's very direct with players. I love what what he's done with infielders throughout his career.”
It's been awhile since the Tigers were good, but they have been slowly improving. Last year, they finished in second place in the AL Central. That was a step in the right direction, and this year, Detroit wants to be back on top.
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