Hairline fracture on his thumb could spell end of Baez's season

MILWAUKEE — Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo had the most appropriate reaction when he heard that teammate and shortstop Javier Baez may miss the rest of the regular season with a hairline fracture of his left thumb.

“Oof,” Rizzo said.

Oof, indeed.

Baez had an MRI performed Saturday morning, and it revealed the hairline fracture. He will see a hand specialist Monday to determine how long he will be out. The regular season ends Sept. 29.

“It's no fun,” said Cubs manager Joe Maddon. “I figured something was up. He wants to play. He comes out to the ballpark wanting to play. He swings (the bat) a little bit, and it's hurting. So you know he's not going to mess around. I was always concerned something like this may be the result.”

Baez jammed his thumb sliding into second base during last Sunday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field. He exited that game early and has not played since. An X-ray taken Sunday turned up no fracture, but the thumb continued to bother Baez.

With the Cubs fighting for the National League Central title and also a wild-card spot, losing Baez for the rest of the season could be a huge blow.

The two-time all-star has a batting line of .281/.316/532 with 29 home runs and 82 RBI. Even more important, Baez is a spark plug for the Cubs both on offense and with his play in the field.

For the rest of the regular season, Addison Russell will move into the everyday shortstop role. Russell was the Cubs' shortstop during their world-championship season of 2016. He began this season serving a suspension for violating Major League Baseball's policy on domestic violence. He also was demoted to Class AAA Iowa during the season.

“Javy is the heart of this team,” said catcher Willson Contreras. He plays for us like his hair is on fire. We're going to miss him a lot, but like somebody says: ‘One steps out. One steps in.'”