Javier Baez has gone from has-been to All-Star starter again

Considering Javier Baez was all but branded an aging has-been who would never live up to his bloated free agent contract, the Tigers shortstop’s 2025 resurgence has been nothing less than magical.

After three disappointing seasons in Detroit, the Bayamon, Puerto Rico native known as “El Mago” (The Magician) for his dazzling defense, found himself in the unlikeliest of places this week — on the field in Atlanta as the AL’s starting shortstop in the 2025 All-Star Game.

Baez, now 32, came to Detroit in 2022 after seven and a half seasons with the Chicago Cubs and a couple of months with the Mets after a 2021 midseason trade. After signing a six-year, $140 million deal, Tigers fans tired of the team’s perennial losing were thrilled to be getting a gold-glove all star infielder with power and a World Series pedigree — he won a ring with the Cubs in 2016.

But Baez never could get up to speed in Motor City.

By 2024, a string of injuries and a seasons-long struggle to get used to his new surroundings led to a dismal .184 average with just 6 home runs and 37 RBI in 80 games, followed by season-ending hip surgery.

In 2025, with the Tigers coming off their first postseason series in a decade and enjoying a seemingly insurmountable lead in the AL Central at the All-Star break, there was no question a now-healthy Baez has been playing a huge role in the team’s performance.

His .275, 10 HR and 39 RBI going into the Midsummer Classic was, at least for now, a sign a former star had returned to form.