Tigers' Javy Baez, ex-Cubs star, has lost his 'El Mago' magic

Magic, man.

That was Javy Baez at his best with the Cubs. A powerhouse to all fields. A rapscallion on the bases. A showstopper with his glove. But ‘‘magic’’ covered it all, ‘‘El Mago’’ as perfect a nickname as Cubdom had seen since ‘‘Mr. Cub,’’ ‘‘The Hawk’’ and ‘‘Slammin’ Sammy.’’

In all Baez’s years of playing baseball, nothing topped 2016, when he rocketed to household-name status with a spectacular October. It’s still the most fun he has had.

‘‘I think about it probably every day, to be honest,’’ he said. ‘‘I got a tattoo of the [World Series] trophy. That’s always going to be special. I still got the ring — I always take it everywhere, so nobody steals it — but it’s always there, always on my mind. I always remember that year. The way we played, it was like we weren’t afraid of anyone.’’

Tragic, man.

That has been much of Baez’s big-league performance since the Cubs traded him at the deadline in 2021, 10-plus years after making him a first-round draft pick. Now 31, Baez — in the third season of a six-year, $140 million deal with the Tigers — is batting .185 with meager power numbers and the most infamous propensity in the majors for swinging at unhittable pitches. In 358 games with the Tigers entering his homecoming Tuesday at Wrigley Field, Baez has floundered terribly, slashing .221/.263/.348 (compared with .264/.307/.477 pre-Detroit) with only 32 home runs. His status as a starting shortstop is shaky, which not long ago would’ve been unimaginable.

His lower back is a painful problem that won’t go away, too. Between that, his poor production and the Tigers’ desire to see prospects in action at the big-league level, Baez is all but officially a platoon player. Out of respect for Baez, manager A.J. Hinch will give him a deserved spotlight on the North Side, likely starting him in two of the three games. After that, young shortstop Trey Sweeney will get a long look.

Cubs fans are happy to see Baez — and the feeling is mutual — but he’s a struggling former star at a career crossroads.

‘‘I feel young in life but old in baseball,’’ he said.

He said it with a smile, but it was a bit sad.

‘‘It hurts, obviously, that I’m not getting my results in baseball,’’ he said. ‘‘But that doesn’t take away from me working hard and coming every day to try again.’’

There were stretches with the Cubs when getting results seemed inevitable. This was a kid who homered in his first game, in 2014. (Sure, he also struck out swinging three times, but who was counting?) Baez had the winning hits in Games 1 and 4 — the clincher — of the 2016 National League Division Series against the Giants, whose players and fans couldn’t stand him by the end of that series. He was co-MVP, along with left-hander Jon Lester, of the NL Championship Series against the Dodgers. Along the way in those playoffs, the baseball world started wondering whether Baez might be the most talented Cubs player and the most dazzling glove man in the league.

You’d damn sure believe a young man who got a tattoo of the MLB logo on the back of his neck at 16 thought those same things about himself. The confidence was out of this world.

Baez is only grasping at it these days, which also is sad. After a standing ovation and chants of ‘‘Javy!’’ from the Wrigley crowd Tuesday, he struck out in his first at-bat on the sort of breaking ball out of the zone that — when he was at his best — was more of an occasional nemesis than a mortal enemy. His next time up, he took strike three with a runner on third and nobody out. If only that old confidence could be summoned anew.

‘‘It’s not really [there],’’ he said. ‘‘I’m different every day, playing-wise. I can be really hot and focused at the plate, and then the next game I can be all over the place. . . . I think it’s up to me to really feel confidence and trust at the plate and let it happen.’’

He struck out two more times, the last of which was the final out and came as he represented the tying run.

Tigers fans boo Baez and rip him online.

‘‘I don’t want to say they hate me,’’ he said. ‘‘But obviously, because of my numbers right now, they’re really tough.’’

There was zero doubt a stop back in time at Wrigley would be met with nothing but warmth and cheers from the home fans. This is where he became a force. This is where he was part of a championship core that held him to account, especially early in his career.

‘‘I think I was really focused for them,’’ he said, citing first baseman Anthony Rizzo in particular. ‘‘I always had that pressure to be good for him and for the whole team.’’

He’s trying to pay that feeling forward with the young Tigers, though it’s hard to do when you’re not hitting at all. Before the game Tuesday, Baez led a segment of a hitters’ meeting, describing some of the intricacies of Wrigley.

‘‘Javy has had a tough go of it,’’ Hinch said, ‘‘but he hasn’t let it demoralize him. And he’s always one swing away from doing excellent things on the field.’’

The last thing Baez wants is to have a magical disappearing act.

‘‘I know what I can do if I stay healthy and play [a] whole year,’’ he said. ‘‘I don’t want to make excuses about my body. But I know I can hit, I know I can run and play defense. Hopefully, it gets better.’’