On Thursday, the Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente’s Cangrejeros de Santurce have signed Detroit Tigers utility man Javier Báez for the 2025-26 winter season in Puerto Rico.
There is no timetable for Báez to report, as the club expects him to take some time off after the Major League Baseball season concluded, Antolin Maldonado Rivers of El Nuevo Día reported.
“It is a huge pride to welcome Javy Báez to the Cangrejero family. His energy, passion, and career in the major leagues are a reflection of the competitive spirit that characterizes this organization,” Carlos Iguina, president of the Cangrejeros, said in a statement on the team’s official website. “His presence raises the standard of our league and will be an inspiration for fans and future generations.”
Báez, 32, was born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, and spent parts of two seasons with the Cangrejeros during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 LBPRC campaigns. He’s played 26 total games with the club, hitting .242/.324/.432 with four home runs and 17 RBIs in 108 plate appearances. The Chicago Cubs selected Báez ninth overall in the 2011 MLB Draft out of Arlington Country Day School in Jacksonville, Florida.
Báez represented Puerto Rico in the 2017 and 2023 editions of the World Baseball Classic and projects to be a mainstay in the lineup next March. He began his Major League career primarily as a shortstop, but the Tigers used him at four positions in 2025, most notably center field. The right-handed hitter’s sudden defensive versatility gives Omar López, the Cangrejeros manager, multiple places to insert Báez in the field.
This past MLB season, Báez made his first All-Star team since 2019, hitting .257/.282/.389 with 12 home runs and 57 RBIs with the Tigers. He had a much better first half of the season, hitting-wise, compared to post-All-Star break. Báez had a .628 OPS in 74 plate appearances in August and a .548 OPS in 43 plate appearances in September.
The Cangrejeros play their first game of the 2025-26 LBPRC regular season on Friday at 7 p.m. EST at Estadio Hiram Bithorn against the Senadores de San Juan.
Photo: Detroit Tigers’ Javier Báez, right, celebrates his three-run home run with Gleyber Torres, left, against the Boston Red Sox in the 11th inning during a baseball game, Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
