TORONTO, ON – APRIL 13: Javier Baez #28 of the Detroit Tigers, MLB Rumors (Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images)
MLB Rumors: How bad is Javy Baez’s injury?
In the Detroit Tigers Wednesday afternoon game against the Milwaukee Brewers, star shortstop Javy Baez suffered a hand injury after being hit by a pitch.
Baez, ironically enough, had been red-hot at the plate for a change. After a brutal start to the season which included Baez getting benched for a baserunning mistake, he is batting .378 (14-37 AB) with 4 XBH and 7 RBI over his 10-game hit streak. It’s unclear exactly how severe Baez’s injury is at this time, though he was taken out of the game and replaced by fellow infielder Jonathan Schoop.
Baez’s season turnaround is rather surprising given it was only a few weeks ago when he was benched on a play in which he forgot how many outs were in the inning. Javy’s mistake was the culmination of a frustrating first few weeks for Detroit, and A.J. Hinch had enough and decided to make an example out of one of the highest-paid players on the roster.
“Anybody can make a mistake. At this point, the way we’re playing, and the way I’m playing, it’s obviously going to be worse. If I’m hot and I have seven homers and I make that same mistake, I would have stayed in the game. But I got no excuses,” Baez said at the time.
Now just as things were turning around, he’s suffered another setback.