SAN FRANCISCO – Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers has a fractured right big toe, but the news isn’t as bad as Milwaukee initially feared.
The slugger fouled a ball off his right toe in Monday night's 3-0 loss to the Giants. He received additional imaging on Tuesday that suggested this wasn’t a new fracture, but rather one that was already present in the toe from a previous at-bat.
Bauers fouled a 3-2 splitter from Tyler Mahle off his right foot in the fifth inning in San Francisco. He grounded out to first base on the next pitch, trotting gingerly down the line. He was eventually replaced by Luis Lara in right field in the seventh inning.
Pregame on Tuesday, Bauers was walking around the clubhouse in sandals, rather than a boot – and even suggested he should be able to pinch-hit later in the game if needed.
“Fouled it off my foot, the cold weather wasn't helping it get any better,” Bauers said. “I couldn't really move, so I came out of the game, got an X-ray, it showed a fracture line. At the time, they weren't sure if it was old or new. Got an MRI and a CT scan this morning, and the doctors came back and said that it was probably old and was already there.
“So right now, it's just swelling and a little bit of pain, but I’m gonna be fine.”
“He's not going to be out long term,” said manager Pat Murphy. “He might be able to pinch-hit today, or maybe play tomorrow. We'll see. But we're very fortunate.”
Bauers said that it probably wouldn’t have been an IL stint had the fracture materialized after Monday’s foul ball.
“Even if it was new, it was just going to be pain management, get the swelling down as much as possible,” he said. “But the fact that it's old, I think, is probably better than [the other] options.”
That’s all no doubt a relief to the Brewers, who have enjoyed a productive and versatile season from the 30-year-old.
In 97 games this season, Bauers is hitting .265/.370/.486 with a. 856 OPS, leads the club with 18 homers and is second with 60 RBIs entering Tuesday, proving a valuable asset for Murphy in the lineup and at first base (78 games), right field (17 games) and left field (16 games).