The Detroit Tigers have been in a lengthy rebuild for quite some time now, and it resulted in another ugly campaign in 2022. The 2022 campaign was AJ Hinch‘s second while in charge of the team, and it wasn't great to see his team take a step back after an encouraging debut season back in 2021.
There wasn't much that went right in Detroit in 2022, with one of their bigger issues being the lack of production they received from star free agent signing Javier Baez. Baez did not live up to expectations in his first season with the Tigers (.238 BA, 17 HR, 67 RBI, .671 OPS) and Hinch recently revealed how he worked on cultivating his relationship with Baez in an effort to help him bounce back in 2023.
#Tigers manager A.J. Hinch visited Javier Báez in Puerto Rico this offseason. They hung out at his farm and restaurant.
Hinch: "I spent some time with Javy over the winter, and I understand him a lot more. He and I have become close, and he's confided in me in a lot of things." https://t.co/2IDvmyQFDh
— Evan Petzold (@EvanPetzold) February 25, 2023
The Tigers won't necessarily be competing for a playoff spot in 2023, but they will be hoping to get more production out of Baez considering the six-year, $140 million contract they handed him last offseason. What Baez did last year was simply not enough, and while it isn't as easy to produce at a high level in a weaker Tigers lineup, he is going to have to be better for them moving forward.
It was a trying season for AJ Hinch as well, who wasn't looking to see the Tigers fall apart like they did. It's good to see that he's working on becoming closer with his players, and having arguably his top hitter on good terms with him in Baez is a great sign. Detroit won't be making a run for the top spot in the American League Central by any means, but look for Baez to put together a nice bounce back campaign with Hinch working overtime to help him achieve that.
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