Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Baez (back) was scratched from the team's starting lineup on Wednesday against the San Francisco Giants due to back spasms. In his place, Kody Clemens got the start at the keystone and hit third in the lineup against Giants right-hander Logan Webb, while Willi Castro moved to shortstop and hit fifth. Fantasy managers should consider Baez day-to-day for now. The 29-year-old Puerto Rican came into Wednesday's game with a .224/.266/.370 slash line with 11 home runs, 45 RBI, 44 runs scored and eight stolen bases in 419 at-bats in his first year in Detroit. He's been better in August, though, going 19-for-79 (.241) with a homer, six RBI, six runs scored and four steals in 20 games played.

Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Baez (arm) is back in the starting lineup for Monday's game against left-hander Sean Manaea and the San Diego Padres. Baez was hit on his upper left arm by a pitch during Sunday's game. He initially remained in the game, but wound up being removed a few innings after the incident. The 29-year-old has slashed just .217/.260/.374 in his first year in a Tigers jersey while adding nine homers, 36 RBI and 34 runs.

Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Baez is off to a slow start this season. The 29-year-old is batting .197 with a .242 on-base percentage, three home runs, and a stolen base in 194 plate appearances for Detroit. The veteran's strikeout rate, 25.8%, is the lowest it has been since 2016, but Baez is struggling to make as much hard contact as he usually does. His 34.6% hard-hit rate is lower than it has been in each of his last five seasons. The infielder, who is also sporting a .254 BABIP, seems like a decent bet to turn things around at some point this season due to his track record, but his start certainly hasn't been ideal for fantasy managers.

Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Baez is out of the starting lineup for the second straight game on Thursday against the Minnesota Twins. Baez's second straight absence is reportedly part of a planned mental break for the struggling slugger. The 29-year-old hit .165/.209/.239 with one home run, two RBI, four walks and 29 strikeouts in 115 plate appearances in the month of May to drop his season slash line to .197/.236/.306 in 165 plate appearances. His OPS sits at a career-worst .542 as we head into June. Things should only get better, but fantasy managers may want to keep Baez benched until he figures things out at the plate. Harold Castro is getting another start at the 6 and is hitting second on Thursday against Twins right-hander Chris Archer.

Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Baez is not in the starting lineup on Wednesday against the Minnesota Twins. Baez continues to struggle at the plate and is now hitting .197/.236/.306 with three home runs, 13 RBI and 10 runs scored in 165 plate appearances over 40 games in his first year in Detroit. In the month of May, the 29-year-old went 18-for-113 (.159) with 30 strikeouts, one home run and two RBI in 29 games played. We're not sure how much uglier it can get. Harold Castro is playing shortstop and batting second on Wednesday against Twins right-hander Bailey Ober. Castro has been much more reliable with the bat, as he's hitting .303 with four home runs and nine RBI in 29 games in 2022.

Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Baez helped the team defeat the Cleveland Guardians 4-2 on Sunday. He went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and a pair of strikeouts in the game. The home run was his third of the year and his first since April 26. Baez has been really struggling at the plate thus far in May. He has a .156/.198/.234 slash line this month with 22 strikeouts and only three walks. The 29-year-old maintained a hard-hit rate of over 40% in each of his last four seasons, topping out at 45.2% last year. So far this year, his hard-hit rate is sitting at just 35.2%. The venue change could certainly be hampering Baez, but his long track record of elite production encourages us to remain patient with him for a bit longer.

Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Baez is not in the starting lineup for Thursday's game against right-hander James Kaprielian and the Oakland Athletics. Harold Castro will be covering shortstop for the game. Baez is hitting just .156/.208/.200 over 11 games in May. He hasn't homered since April 26 and has just two home runs over 22 games on the year. The 29-year-old has a hard-hit rate of just 37.9%, down from 45.2% last year, but his average exit velocity (90.7 mph) is slightly up from last year (90.1 mph). He's been plagued by a 9.1% HR/FB rate, but once that number normalizes, we should start to see his power numbers improve.

The Detroit Tigers infielder Javier Baez went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts in the Tigers' 3-2 loss to the Houston Astros on Friday. After a hot start to the 2022 season in early April, Baez has struggled over the past seven games, slashing just .207/.258/.276 with no homers, three RBI, and six strikeouts over 29 at-bats. Baez is coming off a solid 2021 campaign in which he hit .265 with a .319 on-base percentage, 31 home runs, and 18 stolen bases over 547 plate appearances split between the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets. Despite the struggles Baez has had since returning from a short stint on the injured list due to a thumb injury, his bat should get going in short order, though managers should temper expectations regarding on-base percentage. He should remain active in all formats.

The Detroit Tigers reinstated infielder Javier Baez (thumb) from the 10-day injured list ahead of Sunday's game against the Colorado Rockies. He is batting third and will handle shortstop duties for Sunday's contest. The 29-year-old missed the 10-day minimum due to a sore right thumb. Before landing on the injured list, the former Chicago Cub slashed .316/.350/.526 with one homer and four RBI over fives games in 2022. Fantasy managers with daily moves can safely insert Baez into their starting lineups.

Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Baez (thumb) won't be activated for Saturday's doubleheader against the Colorado Rockies. The All-Star infielder is close to 100 percent and is hopeful to play on Sunday. He has been sidelined since April 13 due to right thumb soreness. In the meantime, Harold Castro will cover shortstop and bat seventh versus right-hander Antonio Senzatela. Fantasy managers will have to check back on Sunday to see if Baez will actually return then.

Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Baez (thumb) went through a workout on Friday. According to Chris McCosky of The Detroit News, Baez came out of the workout "in good shape." Due to the success of the workout, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch stated that Baez would either be back on Saturday or Sunday. The 29-year-old has been out since April 12 due to a thumb sprain. He was off to a good start to the year offensively before the injury, recording hits in four of his five games while slashing .316/.350/.526.

Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Baez (thumb) was placed on the 10-day IL on Saturday, retroactive to April 13, after suffering a thumb sprain during a walk-off celebration earlier in the week. The injury was originally thought to be minor after X-rays came back negative, but the club will play it cautious with their superstar free-agent acquisition by keeping him out of action another week. The former Cubs All-Star was off to a strong start with a homer, four RBI, and a .316 BA through his first five games as he will, hopefully, only require the minimum amount of days on the shelf before returning to the lineup.

Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Baez (thumb) will miss his fourth straight game on Saturday as his club squares off against the Royals. The club is taking a conservative approach with their superstar free agent acquisition who injured his thumb earlier in the week after getting a walk-off hit in the Tigers' home opener. X-rays have already come back negative, so Baez should return to the lineup within the next couple of days as long as he doesn't suffer a setback. Harold Castro will bat ninth and play shortstop as Jeimer Candelario will move up to the three-hole to plug Baez's customary spot in the batting order.

Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Baez (thumb) will be held out of a third straight game on Friday, according to manager A.J. Hinch. Baez continues to fight a swollen right thumb that flared up again at batting practice on Thursday. The Tigers will aim for a return on Saturday. Harold Castro started at the 6 and hit eighth on Thursday with Baez out, and he'll likely do the same on Friday against Kansas City Royals right-hander Brad Keller. Baez, who is 6-for-19 with a home run and four RBI in his first five games for the Tigers, should be considered day-to-day for now. Castro went 0-for-3 with an RBI and two strikeouts on Thursday and is 3-for-10 in 12 plate appearances to begin the year. He's a long shot for significant DFS production against KC.

Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Baez (thumb) was scratched from the lineup on Thursday due to a lingering issue with his thumb. Harold Castro will play shortstop and bat eighth versus Kansas City starter Zack Greinke. Baez was in the original starting lineup, but will miss his second-straight game after injuring his thumb earlier in the week. Fantasy managers can only hope Baez will return later in this four-game set in Kansas City.

Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Baez (thumb) is back in the starting lineup for Thursday's game against Zack Greinke and the Kansas City Royals. Baez was scratched from the lineup for Wednesday's game as he was dealing with a sore thumb. His thumb had gotten swollen after he was jammed in an at-bat in Tuesday's game. Luckily, he seems to have recovered. The 29-year-old has gone 6-for-19 with a home run and a double over his first five games as a Tiger. He's batting in his usual No. 3 spot in the lineup for Thursday's contest.

Detroit Tigers infielder Javier Baez (thumb) was scratched from Wednesday's lineup against the Boston Red Sox due to thumb soreness. According to manager AJ Hinch, his thumb was swollen after getting jammed yesterday. "He got treatment all day. Hopefully, it's just a one-day thing." The 29-year-old could return for Thursday's matchup against the Kansas City Royals. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor the situation, but Baez will return to action soon. The former Chicago Cub is slashing .316/.350/.526 with one home run and four RBI over 20 plate appearances in 2022.

Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Baez (thumb) has been scratched from Wednesday's game against the Boston Red Sox. It appears Baez is dealing with right thumb soreness, so the team will take the cautious approach here. This doesn't sound like something that is going to keep Baez sidelined for long. In the meantime, Harold Castro will cover shortstop and bat sixth versus righty Nathan Eovaldi. Fantasy managers should consider Baez day-to-day right now.

Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Baez had a memorable ending to his debut in a Detroit Tigers uniform on Friday. With two outs in the ninth inning, the game tied at four and a runner on third, Baez came up to the plate. He hit a long fly ball to the wall in right field. Chicago White Sox outfielder AJ Pollock appeared to make a juggling catch, but the play was reviewed and replay showed that the ball hit the wall prior to Pollock's catch. Baez was awarded with a game-winning RBI single. It was his second hit of the game as he went 2-for-5 with a pair of strikeouts.

Detroit Tigers second baseman/shortstop Javier Baez has not gotten off to the best start with his new team this spring. The 29-year-old signed a six-year, $140 million contract this off-season, but is batting just .222 with a .370 slugging percentage, no walks, and five strikeouts in 27 at-bats. Baez's role with the team is solidified given his contract and fantasy managers should not read too much into pre-season stats. He slashed .265/.319/.494 in 2021 with 31 home runs, 87 RBI, and 18 stolen bases and is currently being drafted as the 61st player overall and 12th middle infielder.