Cardinals Easy Replacement if Nathan Church Misses Time

The St. Louis Cardinals will kick off a three-game series on the road against the San Diego Padres on Thursday night.

This comes after the Cardinals dropped their series finale against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday afternoon. Now, the Cardinals sit at 21-15 on the season and are in second place in the National League Central, behind just the Chicago Cubs.

On Wednesday, there was a bit of a scare for the Cardinals as red-hot outfielder Nathan Church was forced to leave early. Church was hit by a pitch early on and was replaced by José Fermín in the outfield in the fourth inning.

When the Cardinals removed Church from the contest, it was announced that he was dealing with a left leg contusion. After the game, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat noted that Jones was seen limping around, but said that he'd be okay.

The Cardinals Outfielder Left Early On Wednesday

Apr 29, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Nathan Church (27) gets the game ball after defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

"Nathan Church had a welt the precise size and shape of a baseball between his calf and shin, but said he’d be ok. Still limping around pretty good," Jones wrote.

For the Cardinals, they should have options for all scenarios. The best-case scenario would be Church being completely fine and ready to play on Thursday night. But what if he's not? The Cardinals have Fermín and Thomas Saggese on the big league roster right now. They would be the seamless options to consistently replace Church if he needed to miss any time. On the other hand, if Church misses time, arguably the best option would be to promote No. 3 prospect Joshua Báez, who is down in Triple-A right now.

The 22-year-old was a Spring Training standout and has followed up with a solid season so far in 2026. He has played in 30 games for High-A Memphis and is slashing .250/.336/.500 with seven homers, 20 RBIs, six stolen bases, and six doubles. He made his case for a spot in the majors throughout Spring Training by slashing .333/.417/.762 with three homers and five RBIs in 10 games. But he didn't make the majors out of camp.

At some point in 2026, he should get a shot to show what he can do. Lars Nootbaar should be back at some point in May or early June. You never want a player to miss time. But if Church were to wake up on Thursday and need a brief Injured List stint, there would be a clear window to get a look at Báez before Nootbaar returns.

Again, Jones shared that Church thinks he's going to be fine so this all could be a moot point. But if Church needs to miss any time, Báez should get the call.

Add us as a preferred source on Google