What happened to Javier Baez? Tigers slugger to miss action as he heads to the bereavement list

Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Baez was originally scratched from Saturday's lineup with a sore knee. It has now come out that Baez will be headed to the bereavement list after the passing of his grandfather.

He will travel to Puerto Rico to attend the funeral and spend time with loved ones. A bereavement list allows baseball players to miss up to seven games for a medical emergency or death in the family.

A corresponding move will be made on Sunday. Many Detroit fans are calling for the team to bring up Colt Keith. Keith is a third baseman who is having a stellar season hitting .307 with 18 home runs.

He has experience playing second and third base and could help the Tigers with Javier Baez out of the lineup. Keith is coming off a game on Friday where he launched a no-doubter into the stands for his fourth Triple-A home run.

Javier Baez has struggled this season

Javier Baez has struggled during his time with the Detroit Tigers. He is hitting .231/.271/.361 with 24 home runs and 250 strikeouts. He is in the bottom one percent of players regarding chase rate.

Baez went from slugging at least 30 home runs a season to just 17 last year. This is far from the player that stole the hearts of Chicago Cubs fans during his time there.

Fans were unhinged when the Cubs decided to move on from him, but that decision is proving brilliant. Dansby Swanson is on fire this season with his .254 average and 18 home runs.

Hopefully, Baez can return from the bereavement list and figure it out at the plate. He is one of the most exciting players to watch when he is hot, and fans have not seen that side of him all year.

Edited by Jared "Bloomy" Bloom