A fastball from the Cubs' Mike Montgomery on August 11, 2016, struck Holliday on the right thumb, fracturing it. The Cardinals placed him on the DL. Presented with the option to either allow the thumb to heal naturally or with surgery, Holliday elected surgery as that would have potentially allowed him to return before season's end. He encountered multiple delays in recovery. Having been informed in the final days of the 2016 season that the Cardinals would not pick up the option for 2017 worth $17 million, he was activated from the DL — although his thumb was still fractured — in time for the September 30 game against Pittsburgh. He hit his first career pinch-hit home run in that game and 20th of the season. Holliday released a statement: "While I'm disappointed this could be it here in St. Louis, I understand that it might be time to move on." While his batting average had dropped to a career-low .246, Holliday was optimistic about a rebound. Because he produced the third-highest exit velocity at of all hitters with at least 100 batted balls in 2016, he concluded that to "have my misses be more in the air than on the ground, my numbers could really get back toward where they have been my whole career."