The Detroit Tigers have been one of the best stories in baseball through the first half of the season, maintaining the best record in the league for significant portions of the year. It was few and far between, but when Javier Baez was on the field in 2024, he had a strong argument for worst player in Major League Baseball. Slashing .184/.221/.294 and accounting for a minus-1.1 bWAR in 80 games, Baez looked like he had come to the end of his career. Entering 2025 healthy, though, something spectacular has happened, with Baez becoming versatile on defense while excelling at the plate both in the clutch and on an everyday basis.