The Cardinals got a brief scare Wednesday when Joshua Báez had to leave St. Louis’ 6-5 loss to the San Francisco Giants because of tightness on his left side. For now, though, the early read is encouraging.
Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported after the game that Báez is being treated as day-to-day. “He’s considered day to day at this point,” Goold wrote on X.
That update matters for a Cardinals team that can at least buy a little time. St. Louis is off Thursday before opening its final homestand of the 2026 season Friday against the Washington Nationals, giving Báez an extra day before the club takes the field again.
With only nine games left in the season, the bigger picture is hard to miss. The Cardinals are three games under .500, and while there’s still a push to finish above that mark, Báez’s health has to come first if there’s any real risk involved.
And that’s because the young outfielder has given St. Louis exactly the kind of production the club was hoping to see.
Báez was known in the minors for elite power, and he’s brought that to the majors. He already has seven homers in 29 games played.
After his historic three-homer MLB debut, he went through a rough patch at the plate, but he has settled back in. He entered Wednesday hitting .300/.333/.567 with three homers and nine RBIs over his last 18 games.
The Cardinals gave him his chance, and he has made the most of it. If he needs a little extra time before returning, the club can afford to be cautious. For now, the good news is that the injury scare has not turned into anything worse.
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