The Cardinals’ late-season push has already turned into a wait for next year, and now they’ll have to finish the final stretch without Joshua Báez.
St. Louis announced Friday that Báez has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain, a move that comes after he exited Wednesday’s 6-5 loss to the San Francisco Giants because of tightness in his left side. The club also recalled César Prieto from Triple-A Memphis.
"INF César Prieto has been recalled from Memphis (AAA)," the Cardinals announced. "OF Joshua Báez has been placed on the 10-day IL (left oblique strain)."
For the Cardinals, this is the kind of injury update that hurts in the short term but makes sense in the bigger picture. They have nine games left and sit a game from elimination from playoff contention.
One more loss would make official what has felt inevitable for weeks: no postseason for St. Louis.
With that reality in place, there’s no reason to push Báez and risk making the injury worse.
That’s especially true with the organization focused on development for 2027 and beyond. Báez got 29 big league games this season, and the look he gave the Cardinals was enough to build real excitement about what he could bring in a full year.
In those 29 games, Báez hit .230/.278/.510 with a .788 OPS, seven home runs, 18 RBIs and seven doubles. He also posted a 120 OPS+, which means he was 20 percent better than the average major league hitter during that stretch.
So while the immediate news is disappointing, the bigger takeaway is still encouraging. Báez showed enough to make the future look bright - the only problem now is that Cardinals fans will have to wait until at least March to see him again in a big league game, and even that depends on the collective bargaining agreement being settled in time and not affecting the 2027 season.
In Other News...
Cardinals Just Cleared The Way For A Third Base Battle
The Cardinals trimmed their infield picture by releasing Ramon Urias after he had been designated for assignment, a move that further reshapes the clubs options at third base heading into the offseason. Urias was limited to 43 games this season because of elbow injuries, and his time in St. Louis never really got on track offensively, as he hit .151 with four home runs in 100 plate appearances.
His departure leaves the Cardinals with a clearer runway to sort out the hot corner from within, and it adds another layer to a position that already figures to draw plenty of attention in camp. St. Louis has several internal candidates to consider, so the release does not settle the spot so much as it opens the door wider for a competition that will be worth watching when the roster starts taking shape for next season. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Lose Joshua Baez As Another Roster Shift Begins
Joshua Baezs season ended before it ever really got going in St. Louis, with the young outfielder landing on the 10-day injured list because of a left oblique strain. The Cardinals have been juggling their roster as the year winds down, and this move fits into a larger stretch of housekeeping that also included the release of infielder Ramon Urias and the activation of JJ Wetherholt from the injured list.
Cesar Prieto has been brought up as part of the reshuffle, and the Cardinals now have two open spots on their 40-man roster as the offseason picture starts to take shape. With more changes expected to come, the Baez injury is only one piece of a broader roster reset that could continue to unfold in the coming weeks. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Fans Just Got A New Reason To Trust The Plan
Oliver Marmols upbeat view of the Cardinals direction adds another layer to a fan base that has spent the last stretch waiting for the club to get back to its standard. Even with the recent playoff absences hanging over the conversation, the message out of the dugout is that the organization believes it has a workable system and a clearer path forward than it did a year or two ago.
For Cardinals followers, the appeal is less about a quick fix than the sense that the front office is trying to assemble something sustainable. The longer view points toward a roster that could be in the postseason mix by 2027, which is still more projection than promise, but it is enough to keep the conversation centered on progress instead of frustration. [Read more 🡒]