Detroit Tigers infielder Javy Baez is in the midst of a resurgence, and it’s wild to see. Since signing a six-year, $140 million contract with the Tigers prior to the 2022 MLB season, to say the 2-time All-Star has been a disappointment would be an understatement of massive proportions. In his first season in Detroit, Baez slashed just .238/.278/.393. On its face, it’s not the worst season ever, but it’s hardly becoming of a player making over $23 million a year.
2023 and 2024 were equally poor, with Baez slashing .222/.267./.325 and .184/.221/.294 in those seasons, respectively. Granted, Baez’s 2024 was cut short due to a hip injury that required surgery. But even still, the former Gold Glove and Silver Slugger winner was struggling, making his contract one of the worst in all sports.
But something has begun to click for Baez as we approach the All-Star Break in 2025. At the time of writing, Baez is slashing .274/.302/.416, and combining for a .719 OPS and a 1.5 WAR. Don’t get me wrong, these aren’t elite numbers by any means, and it’s still somewhat short of what a player paid as much as Baez should be attaining. But with half the MLB season still to play — and the Tigers playing the best baseball in the league — it’s something that can be built upon as Detroit marches towards October.
MLB The Show 25 Didn’t See This Coming
In the spirit of fun, I decided to sim a full season in MLB The Show 25 Franchise Mode, just to see if Jav Baez could recreate his current season in-game. To give him every possible chance to succeed, I even used the current rosters, meaning Baez was given a small boost due to his real-life form. And even with that accounted for, Baez still didn’t look great over a full season. And, to be fair, neither did the Tigers, who finished 85-77 on the season. While it was good enough to make the Postseason, it was far from the dominance they’ve shown in real life.
Through the 2025 MLB season simulation, this is how MLB The Show 25 saw Baez as performing:
- 150 games
- 11 homeruns
- 51 RBI
- .249 batting average
- .287 on-base percentage
- .345 slugging percentage
- .632 OPS
- -0.7 WAR
As you can see, Baez didn’t have a great season in MLB The Show 25. But this is hardly surprising. As any rational person would know, a video game won’t take into account what players are doing behind the scenes to improve their game or find their juju again. It’s taking a static environment with too few variables and making the most of it, using nothing but the past to predict success.
Now, I don’t want to dismiss simulation at all. We do it a lot here at Operation Sports, and it’s super fun to see the results and talk about them. But it’s an imperfect system. And, at the moment, Baez is defying that system.
Of course, anything can happen over the course of a 162-game season. But for now, Baez looks to have found his groove.
