Cubs shortstop Javy Báez wanted to stand in the on-deck circle to feel the energy of the crowd recently. Never mind that he was out with a thumb injury.
“I said, ‘We’ve got (Jake) Marisnick in there, get out of here,’” Cubs manager David Ross recounted Monday. “He’ll come up to me and just tell me he’s bored in the middle of the game. ‘I don’t know what to tell you. I’m working right now.’ That’s the fun you get with Javy.”
Báez was out of the lineup again with a right thumb injury Monday, as the Cubs opened a four-game road series against the Mets. But Ross said he isn’t worried about it becoming a lingering issue. The thumb injury that’s kept Báez out of the starting lineup the last two games isn’t the same one that kept him out of the Cubs’ series at San Diego last week.
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Both were to the right thumb. But a week ago, Báez jammed his thumb hitting a ball off the end of the bat. He returned for two games and then bruised the same thumb diving into the Wrigley Field stands after a popup on Saturday.
“I got close to the fence, and the ball keep getting closer to me, so I was like —,” Báez said, shrugging. “I don’t know. I was so ready for this play, and I didn’t catch the ball, so I’m just mad about it. It doesn’t feel that bad. I don’t like to be out with small things like this.”
On Monday, Báez said, his thumb “felt good” hitting off the tee. He also fielded groundballs Monday afternoon.
“We’ll see how it feels now when we go hit in the cage,” Báez said before the game.
MLB
Gordon Wittenmyer contributed to the reporting of this story from New York.
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