Baez breaks finger, out at least a month

Amid speculation of a possible callup, Cubs infielder Javier Baez fractured a finger on his left hand sliding into second base for Triple-A Iowa on Sunday and could be sidelined up to two months.

The incident occurred in the bottom of the seventh inning of Iowa's 3-2 win over the visiting Memphis Redbirds at Principal Park after the 22-year-old had beaten out an infield single.

With two outs and Taylor Teagarden at the plate, Baez stole second, diving headfirst to beat the throw by catcher Travis Tartamella. In reaching for the bag, he jammed the ring finger of his left hand and remained on the ground in obvious pain.

I-Cubs manager Marty Pevey and athletic trainer Scott Barringer came out to check on Baez, who said he wanted to remain in the game. The team decided he should go to the hospital for precautionary X-rays, with MLB.com reporting Sunday night that he suffered a non-displaced fracture of the finger.

Jonathan Mota replaced Baez, who batted third and was playing third base for the fifth time this season.

"He had a good jump on a 2-1 pitch and jammed his left ring finger it looked like into the bag," Pevey said. "Anytime you jam the finger on there, you'll be in pain, but he wanted to stay in the game. But the trainer did his thing and we decided he should come out."

The Puerto Rico native is batting .314 with eight homers, 29 RBIs and seven stolen bases in 37 Pacific League games.

Immediately after the game and before the results of the X-rays were known, Pevey speculated that Baez -- who bats and throws right-handed -- could miss as few as two or three games if the hand was bruised or sprained. He said if that was the case, the main question would center on whether he could play through the discomfort.

"If it's broken, it's a different story," Pevey said. "It could be broken, of course, and you're looking at four to six weeks, probably, right? And probably 15-20 at-bats of rehab somewhere like Arizona."

ESPN Chicago reported Sunday evening that Baez believed it was a four-to-eight week injury and that he will be re-evaluated later in the week.

Cubs manager Joe Maddon told MLB.com after Sunday's 6-3 win over the Nationals: "That's a kick in the butt for the kid, man. He's been working so hard, he's been doing so well. I don't know the extent of it, but I heard about it, yes."

Baez, who appeared in 52 Major League games for the Cubs last season, began taking ground balls at third last week and has since played five games at the hot corner. Many speculated the move hinted toward a possible return to Chicago, but the organization said it was to improve his versatility for whenever a need arose.

"He's at a point right now in his development where I just feel like he is fixing to take off. You can almost sense it," Pevey said. "The improvements he's made the past seven to 10 days, you can feel he's about to blossom real quick.

"Anytime is a bad time [for an injury], but after just transitioning to third base, it's not good, that's for sure."