Cubs Fans Should Start Worrying About Javy Baez's Heel Injury
By Sean Facey
Just two days ago, Chicago Cubs shortstop Javier Baez was pulled from the team's game against the Washington Nationals after suffering a right heel contusion.
With Baez set to miss his second consecutive game due to the injury, it might be time for Cubs fans to start worrying about his health and what it means for the team.
Javier Baez’s bruised right heel will keep him out of the Cubs starting lineup again tonight.
— Chicago Sports (@ChicagoSports) May 21, 2019
Cubs-Phillies game starts at 6:05 p.m. at chilly Wrigley Field.https://t.co/ZHbNSP6JTv via @MDGonzales pic.twitter.com/5KtzLsm3yD
The flashy shortstop was off to a torrid start in the first quarter of the season, slashing .319/.359/.595 with 11 home runs before he suffered the injury.
His presence in the batting order is critical for the Cubs' offensive machine that's averaged 5.38 runs per game this year.
Baez' replacement, Addison Russell, is fresh off of a 40-game suspension and hasn't cracked an OPS over .740 in any of his previous four seasons with the team. That's not a productive enough fill-in.
2019 NL Batting WAR Leaders
— Baseball Reference (@baseball_ref) May 20, 2019
Cody Bellinger (4.6)
Christian Yelich (2.9)
Paul DeJong (2.8)
Javier Baez (2.8)
All Leaders: https://t.co/RaggwiwJHB
What's concerning is that Baez said he could play on Monday, and now he's missing his second straight game.
Simply put, there's no way the Cubs can replace Baez in the lineup or in the field, and that will rapidly become a bigger problem with each game that he misses.
If Cubs fans haven't pressed the panic button yet, then they should at least have their hands hovering over it as they hope this is a short-term issue that the team is simply being cautious with.