ST. LOUIS -- The enthralling debut stint for Cardinals rookie Joshua Báez has met a slightly premature conclusion.
St. Louis placed the 23-year-old outfielder on the 10-day injured list (left oblique strain) ahead of Friday night’s series opener against Washington at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals recalled infielder César Prieto in a corresponding move.
The move is retroactive to the team’s off-day on Sept. 17, but with just nine games remaining in the season, the young slugger’s campaign comes to a close.
“You always want to finish with the boys, finish strong,” Báez said Friday. “But you know, things happen, and you know, it just came out of my hands.”
Báez departed Wednesday's extra-inning loss to the Giants in the top of the 10th inning, in a spot where the Cardinals certainly would have been eager to use his bat in the bottom half of the frame.
“Obviously bummed,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “Took a swing where he felt it last game where we removed him. Yeah, he goes on the IL, which is unfortunate because we wanted him to be able to finish and continue to get a taste. But I’m glad that he was able to get a taste of what the big leagues is about and he goes into his offseason knowing exactly what to expect and how to handle it in what he’s working toward.
“He got enough of a taste where it was meaningful, so I’m glad we did it when we did.”
After a record-setting MLB debut on Aug. 15 at Wrigley Field that featured three straight home runs in his first three career plate appearances, Báez settled into the Cardinals’ lineup as an extra-base fiend. He regularly demonstrated his power swing over the month that followed his historic debut, finishing with seven home runs and seven doubles in 108 big league plate appearances.
Báez ends the 2026 season with a .510 slugging percentage as a big leaguer. Among qualifying MLB rookies, a designation for which Báez falls short due to his limited stint in the Major Leagues this season, only Pittsburgh’s Esmerlyn Valdez has a slugging percentage as high as what Báez produced in his 29 games with the Cardinals.
“He showed us, obviously, in that first game what he’s capable of and that the ceiling is super high,” Marmol said. “Just working toward the consistency of that. But he started to make some adjustments and take some better at-bats, and that comes with experience.
“But this is a guy with a high ceiling who can be a real threat offensively, and I’m excited for the work that he’ll put in with Jon Jay and moving forward in order to become the fielder that he’s capable of becoming.”
Though Báez is disappointed at the way his season ended due to circumstances outside of his control, he felt good about getting his feet wet with the MLB experience he gained over the past month.
Now, he has it to draw from as he looks ahead toward 2027.
“It just gives you confidence,” Báez said. “Now I’ve been here, you know?”