It’s all a process, and I don’t expect anything just around the corner, but here’s a step in the right direction for Chicago Cubs infielder Javier Baez:
https://instagram.com/p/4SMFCLwREG/?taken-by=javy23baez
Baez broke his left ring finger sliding into second base during a June 7 Iowa Cubs game, and the initial estimates for his return to the I-Cubs ranged from four to six weeks before settling on something closer to six to eight weeks.
So, then, it looks like Baez took about two and a half weeks off – there’s not much you can do when what you need to happen is for a bone to heal – and now he’s headed to the Cubs’ facility in Mesa to continue rehabbing. He’ll be able to do a variety of tangentially-baseball-related activities, I’m sure, though the big things – fielding and hitting – likely won’t come for a little while yet. We’re still a little over three weeks away from the six week estimate, so your best case scenario has Baez ready to play in simulated or rookie league games there in Arizona in two to three weeks. On the more conservative end, don’t look for Baez to be playing in those games until late July, with a return to Iowa perhaps a week thereafter.
As we discussed previously, the timing of Baez’s injury was terrible for Baez (who was playing so well and had already missed time at the start of the year after the passing of his sister), for the Cubs’ big league performance (he was close to returning to the big leagues, perhaps at third base), and for the Cubs’ options during trade season (whether as a trade piece, himself, or opening up other options for the Cubs to make a trade with confidence).
Here’s hoping the rehab goes well, and Baez is back soon.