The Chicago Cubs find themselves looking up at the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central standings in the final month of the regular season, which has them focusing on the National League Wild Card race as well. They will be without an MVP-caliber player down the stretch, as shortstop Javier Baez is expected to miss the remainder of the regular season with a hairline fracture in his thumb. There is no official timetable for the star's return, so it is uncertain on if/when he would make his return if the Cubs were to make the Postseason.
The injury is to his left thumb and was suffered when he jammed it on second base with a head-first slide last Sunday, and he has missed six straight games since the injury. That includes all three games against the Brewers in Milwaukee this past weekend, which saw the Brew-Crew take three of four to improve their Postseason positioning.
Baez will see a hand specialist to help get him healthy in time for October baseball, as the 26-year-old is set to visit with them on Monday. Addison Russell has taken over at shortstop with Baez sidelined, giving the controversial option more playing time after an up and down year due to off-the-field issues. He was suspended for the first 28 games while serving a ban from last season for violating the league's domestic violence policy. Since taking over, he has made errors in consecutive games against Milwaukee, while struggling with the bat at the plate. Baez was hitting .281 with 29 home runs and 85 RBI at the time of his injury, and he could be an explosive addition if the Cubs find themselves in the Postseason picture in less than a month.
The injury is to his left thumb and was suffered when he jammed it on second base with a head-first slide last Sunday, and he has missed six straight games since the injury. That includes all three games against the Brewers in Milwaukee this past weekend, which saw the Brew-Crew take three of four to improve their Postseason positioning.
Baez will see a hand specialist to help get him healthy in time for October baseball, as the 26-year-old is set to visit with them on Monday. Addison Russell has taken over at shortstop with Baez sidelined, giving the controversial option more playing time after an up and down year due to off-the-field issues. He was suspended for the first 28 games while serving a ban from last season for violating the league's domestic violence policy. Since taking over, he has made errors in consecutive games against Milwaukee, while struggling with the bat at the plate. Baez was hitting .281 with 29 home runs and 85 RBI at the time of his injury, and he could be an explosive addition if the Cubs find themselves in the Postseason picture in less than a month.
