Jack’s Take: Javier Báez Moving To Center Field Shows He Still Has Some Magic

There’s a reason his nickname is El Mago, or “the magician."

In the prime of his career with the Chicago Cubs, Javier Báez became known for spectacular defensive plays primarily at shortstop, but also second base and third base, winning a Gold Glove in 2020. He’s the only player I know with a highlight reel of strictly tagging out baserunners, and he popularized the head-first “swim slide,” now replicated almost daily.

We haven’t even mentioned his bat, which was outstanding for a period, too. He finished second in the 2018 NL MVP race and earned back-to-back All-Star nods with 63 home runs and 196 RBI in a two-year span. At his best, he was arguably MLB’s most entertaining player on a daily basis, helping him land the cover of MLB The Show.

Báez’s fall has also been remarkable. Since the Cubs traded him to the New York Mets at the 2021 deadline for center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong – which now looks like an absolute steal for Chicago – Báez has been mostly abysmal. He hit nine home runs and posted a .299 batting average in 47 games with the Mets, but the Detroit Tigers quickly regretted giving the then-29-year-old a six-year, $140 million contract going into the 2022 season.

Báez has a .223 batting average and a woeful .610 OPS in 377 games across parts of four seasons in Detroit. He’s made a slight resurgence in 2025, hitting .268 with a .627 OPS through 17 games, but that doesn’t come close to easing the sting from the first three years of his contract and it doesn't suggest much optimism that the final three years will be markedly better at the plate.

But deep down, we know the “El Mago” version of Báez is still in there somewhere. How?

On Monday, Báez made his first career start in center field. He’s going to be the every day center fielder for the Tigers, according to Chris McCosky of Detroit News, though Riley Greene will still play there some. On Monday, Trey Sweeney played shortstop, with Gleyber Torres at second base and Jace Jung at third.   

Báez appeared in two games at center field earlier this season, but across his previous 11 seasons and 1,239 games, he played left field just twice and right field once. Everyone always knew Báez was a special defender, but to make the switch from shortstop to center field in his age 32 season is incredible. Positional changes happen all the time, but not like this. 

It would be one thing for him to sub in the corner outfield positions occasionally, but for the Tigers to trust him in center field every day moving forward speaks to his defensive prowess. Center field is one of the most difficult defensive positions, especially in a big ballpark like Comerica, making it even more impressive.

“One of the things that Javy has always been invested in is winning,” Hinch said, per Jason Beck of MLB.com. “And he asked what he needed to do to help this team win. You can go to adjustments at the plate, play clean defense, the baserunning that he brings. But the reality is, the biggest message was: We’re going to need you at multiple positions. And he was all-in, and I think he’s taken it in stride because he saw that our team was winning. It was important for him to contribute, and this was the best way for him. “It’s not frowned upon like maybe a decade ago, where you’re not anchoring one position. In fact, it’s more of a compliment to be able to be the answer at a couple positions.”

Beyond the skill level required to even attempt this, it also speaks to Báez’s personality. Instead of letting his struggles at the plate get him down and resting on his $140 million contract, he’s willing to try something new to help the AL Central-leading Tigers in any way he can. Even if it means playing catcher.

“We’re here to help the team,” Báez said. “Everybody’s available to help the team. There’s many times here to play different positions, and we have a lot of guys that can do it. If I can stay healthy, I’ll do whatever, man. I can even catch if you need me.”

Most Detroit fans don’t like him, and that’s understandable, but they should be able to appreciate this. He may not be the same player he was; in some ways, though, Javier Báez is still El Mago.

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