By Jordan Long
The Chicago Cubs are fighting to make the postseason for the 5th year in a row. They sit at 77-66, 4 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals for first place in the National League Central. The Cubs currently are in the 2nd Wild Card position, 2 games ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are only 2.5 games behind the Washington Nationals for the 1st Wild Card spot. Chicago could make the playoffs or miss them all together. Chicago will have to make a run without their All-Star shortstop Javier Baez.
Baez is going to miss the final 19 games and possibly the start of the postseason with a hairline fracture in his left thumb. The injury occurred Sunday during the Cubs 10-5 win over the Brewers. Baez was injured while stealing second base on a headfirst slide in the 3rd inning and didn’t return to the game.
Baez can make plays a shortstop is asked to do on the diamond. He picks up ground balls, catches fly balls, and makes diving stops to prevent the baseball from going into the outfield. Baez has a strong arm which throws baserunners out. He helps on double plays, being part of 88 this year.
The problem is he takes risks trying to heave the ball to 1st base. There are times where Baez should hold onto the baseball but, he tries to throw the runner out. Those end up being errors with a total of 15 this season.
His offense is hard to replace even though he is a free swinger and swings at anything close to the strike zone. Baez is hitting .281 with 29 home runs and 85 RBI’s. He has struck out 155 times this year. When he is walked or smacks a single, Baez is the Cubs best threat to steal a base to be in scoring position with 11 stolen bases but has been caught 7 times.
Chicago knows this is a big loss and they have to replace him in the lineup. Cubs’ 2nd baseman, Addison Russell, was expected to take Baez’s spot at shortstop. He appeared in 18 games at the position this season but didn’t field the ball well. Russell had 4 errors there. Russell is out of the lineup and in concussion protocol after being hit in the helmet in the 3rd inning in the game against the Brewers on Sunday. When healthy, he should be placed there.
The other option for the Cubs is Nico Hoerner. He was called up from Double-A to give depth to the Cubs. He made his major league debut yesterday, going 3 for 5 with 1 triple and 4 RBI’s , helping the Cubs defeat the San Diego Padres 10-2. On defense Hoerner totaled 3 putouts and 4 infield assists. It is possible if he keeps playing like he did last night, Hoerner is the Cubs’ answer while Baez is out. If Chicago misses the postseason, they will look back at the Baez injury as the turning point of their season.
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