Javy Baez suffers an ugly ankle injury on ill-advised slide into first base

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Javy Baez suffers an ugly ankle injury on ill-advised slide into first base

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Darryn Albert | Last updated Apr 29, 2026 12:12 PM ET

Javy Baez cost himself with a lapse in judgment during Tuesday’s game.

The Detroit Tigers infielder Baez was up to bat in the fifth inning at Truist Park in Atlanta, Ga. with a runner on second and nobody out. Baez bounced a routine groundball to Braves shortstop Mauricio Dubon, but Dubon’s throw sailed a bit high.

Atlanta first baseman Matt Olson got pulled off the bag a bit, and Baez attempted to slide into first base to avoid the tag. As a result though, Baez’s ankle got caught underneath him awkwardly.

Here is the unfortunate video of the injury (which led to Baez being carted off the field).

Javy Baez left the game on a cart after this slide into first base pic.twitter.com/hEFcZX3MVP
— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 29, 2026

Baez seemed to have made a split-second decision there to slide and paid the price for it. Instead of running through the bag at full speed, Baez slowed himself down and picked up an ugly-looking ankle injury in the process.

The 33-year-old Baez, an All-Star last season for the Tigers, was batting .263 with two home runs and six RBIs through 23 appearances so far this season. But now he appears to be looking at some time on the shelf after that slide into first base (adding to Baez’s history of suffering injuries in unfortunate ways).

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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