The Detroit Tigers placed shortstop Javier Báez on the bereavement list before Sunday’s game due to the recent death of his grandfather.
On the bereavement list, Báez must miss a minimum of three games and can miss up to seven games. The 30-year-old, who was scratched Saturday with right knee soreness, has been in and out of the starting lineup over the past week while his family finalized plans for the funeral services.
The team promoted infielder Isan Díaz from Triple-A Toledo to take his place on the roster.
Báez left the Tigers after Saturday’s 6-2 win over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park and traveled to Puerto Rico to be with his family for the services. It’s unclear when he will return to the Tigers within the window of three-to-seven days.
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Báez, who grew up in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, is hitting .221 with seven home runs, 50 RBIs, 18 walks and 103 strikeouts in 109 games this season. He has a .262 on-base percentage, a .320 slugging percentage and a .582 on-base-plus-slugging percentage.
He hit .143 (2-for-14) with one walk and 10 strikeouts in his past five games. The Tigers have seven games remaining in their three-city, nine-game road trip, facing the Red Sox (Sunday), Minnesota Twins (Tuesday-Wednesday) and Cleveland Guardians (Thursday-Friday).
The Tigers claimed Díaz, a left-handed hitter, off waivers from the San Francisco Giants on Aug. 7. The 27-year-old has hit .179 with nine home runs, 55 walks (9.5% walk rate) and 146 strikeouts (33.3% strikeout rate) over 151 games in parts of four MLB seasons, including six games with the Giants this season.
Before joining the Tigers, Díaz hit .100 (1-for-10) with one home run, two walks and one strikeout in three games with Toledo. He has minor-league experience at second base, shortstop and third base.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.