Chicago White Sox: Javier Baez is officially a division rival

We’ve been saying for a few months now that the Detroit Tigers are coming. There have been some nice additions made there and we knew that another big one might be coming. Well, after some rumors surrounding many different shortstops being connected to Detroit, they finally got their guy. Javier Baez is headed to Detroit to play for the Tigers.

The Chicago White Sox won the AL Central Division by double-digit games in 2021 and were wildly impressive while doing it. The Tigers came in third but it was clear that they were actually the second-best team in the division. Now, with the addition of Baez, they might be even better.

With Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson, and Javier Baez in the middle of their lineup, there are some really good hitters that can cause some serious damage. There is also a legend like Miguel Cabrera in the room to help mentor some of those young guys and help them reach that next level.

There are also some really good pitchers there in Detroit that will be hard to face as well. For the White Sox, it might actually help them to have a division rival that presents a challenge. They had an easy ride to the top of the division and then were blown out in the playoffs once they faced a good team in a series.

Javier Baez will make the Detroit Tigers a much tougher team for the White Sox.

Baez isn’t what he once was with the Chicago Cubs but he is still a very powerful bat. His plate discipline is terrible but when he connects, the ball goes a long way. The White Sox pitchers are going to have their hands full with him in the middle of this Detroit lineup. He will hit for power a lot which should help the Tigers win more baseball games.

Baez also provides some really good defense. He will probably move back to shortstop with the Tigers as he mostly played second base with the New York Mets following his trade from the Cubs. He is always electric with his mitt just as much as his bat. Anything hit in his general direction can be considered an out most of the time.

The White Sox are still (for now) a better team than the Tigers but they are coming. This should be something that motivates them both on and off the field. As the Tigers get better, it would be nice to see the White Sox make a move to help themselves too.