After Anthony Rizzo tested positive for COVID-19, a second recently-traded former-Cubs player has gone down.
Frequently able to play through little bumps and bruises, Javy Báez today winced in pain on a swing and left the Mets game with “left hip tightness.” We’ve seen Báez do it many times and stay in a game, so it must not have been great.
Per the Mets: Javier Báez left today's game due to left hip tightness.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) August 8, 2021
Hopefully that’s just a twinge of something and then extra caution since the Mets are already down a shortstop. I don’t love that Báez couldn’t even run out of the box.
There’s not a ton to take away from this outside of tracking (1) former Cubs players we care about and like, and (2) whom the Cubs might re-pursue in the offseason. Some think Báez might be the most likely Cubs target in free agency among the traded Cubs (if any are a target at all, that is). But it’s a reminder of how quickly guys can go down, and how the timing of an injury vis a vis the Trade Deadline can swing things wildly in various directions. If Rizzo’s COVID positive happens a couple weeks ago, is he traded at all? If Báez is dealing with a hip issue in addition to the heel bruise, is he traded?
Meanwhile, I’m thinking the Giants might want to quickly remove Kris Bryant from his game today just in case.