Javier Baez may miss rest of season after suffering thumb fracture

The Chicago Cubs got awful news on shortstop Javier Baez on Saturday.

Baez, who had been playing with soreness and discomfort in his left thumb, was diagnosed with a hairline fracture on Saturday. No timetable was offered, but Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times suggested that it may cost the star infielder the remainder of the 2019 season.

Cubs won’t estimate a timeline until Baez sees specialist on Monday. But it would seem his season is over. https://t.co/61ywI0XozB

— Gordon Wittenmyer (@GDubCub) September 7, 2019

At minimum, Baez will miss the bulk of September. The timing on that could not be worse, with the Cubs trying to hold off their NL rivals. They currently sit 2.5 games back of the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central and 2.5 games ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the second NL wild card spot.

The 26-year-old infielder had hit .281 with 29 home runs thus far this season. He’s an integral part of the Chicago lineup, and the Cubs’ task becomes that much harder without him, no matter how long he’ll be absent. The only good news is that a new acquisition has really picked up the slack recently.