As you saw, neither Kris Bryant nor Javy Baez are in tonight’s lineup, and it’s possible neither starts again for the Cubs this year.
Updates on those fronts before tonight’s game:
Cubs: MRI showed moderate sprained right ankle for Kris Bryant. Team not saying his season is over yet. Treated and assessed daily.
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) September 24, 2019
Baez took grounders to test fitness of thumb but did not go well, he said. Still can’t carch ball, he said
— Gordon Wittenmyer (@GDubCub) September 24, 2019
So, yeah. With Bryant, it would take an Anthony Rizzo-like aggressive miracle to get him back out there before the end of the season, and that would only even matter if the Cubs haven’t been eliminated from the Wild Card race by this weekend (which they are very likely to be, even if they sweep the Pirates).
With Baez and his thumb fracture, he can presumably still pinch hit and pinch run as he did this weekend, but if he can’t catch the ball, then he won’t see the field. Obviously, with both of these guys, if the Cubs are going to wind up eliminated by the time they could fully return anyway, then just shut them down. Great years, rest up, so on and so forth.