Potential Knee Injury is Latest Setback for Cardinals Outfielder

The Jordan Walker train just can’t seem to stay on the tracks.

The latest derailment for the St. Louis Cardinals outfielder took place on March 4, as Walker was forced to leave the Cardinals spring training game against Washington early with a possible injury to his left knee. In the second inning of the Cardinals’ 6-4 victory against Washington at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, he ran down a fly ball but appeared to grimace in the process.

When he returned to the dugout, Walker told the coaching staff about the discomfort in his knee and a pinch hitter was sent in to replace him. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol would later say the decision to remove Walker was made from “an abundance of precaution,” although he added that the discomfort remained.

“There is some soreness there,” Marmol said.

Walker traveled back to Jupiter, Florida, to meet with the team’s medical staff “to rule anything out.” The Cardinals hoped to know more by Wednesday morning.

Once a Top Prospect, Jordan Walker Has Struggled to Stick at MLB Level

GettySt. Louis Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker has struggled to hit consistently at the Major League level.

The 6-foot-6, 260-pound Walker has had a sometimes-up, mostly-down start to his Major League Baseball career. Once considered one of the top prospects in baseball, Walker struggled to find his offensive footing in each of the past two seasons, spending almost as much time on the shuttle between St. Louis and Triple A Memphis as he did in the batter’s box at Busch Stadium.

Walker made the team out of spring training in 2023, and he was putting the ball in play early, with a .274 average over his first 73 at-bats. However, team officials were concerned with a perceived lack of power and sent Walker to the minors to work on his swing. He would return, and in his final 97 games back with St. Louis, Walker hit .277 with 43 runs, 14 home runs, and 40 RBIs.

However, 2024 would get off to a brutal start for Walker, who had just 9 hits in 58 at-bats in April, with four runs and four RBIs, spurring a long stretch back at Memphis. Walker would hit .257 over 319 Triple A at-bats , then hit .253 over 87 at-bats with 12 runs, five home runs, and 16 RBIs in September with the Cardinals.

Walker started slowly this spring, getting just 2 hits in 14 at-bats with eight strikeouts, including one in his lone trip to the plate on Tuesday. There were encouraging signs in his previous game, as Walker drilled the ball on three occasions, registering the top two exit velocities in the game, including a 102.1-mph rope to left.

“If he has that approach and that swing every day this year,” Marmol said before Tuesday’s game, “we’re going to have a very good year.”

Losing Jordan Walker Would Likely Put Lars Nootbaar in Right Field

GettySt. Louis Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker appeared to injure his knee during a spring training game on Tuesday.

Should Walker be forced to miss any time, it would boost the prospects of both Michael Siani and Victor Scott II leaving Jupiter with the big league squad.

The Cardinals’ projected lineup to open the season had Walker in right field, with Lars Nootbaar in center and Brendan Donovan in left. If Walker is removed from the lineup, Nootbaar would likely slide over to right, leaving Siani and Scott II to battle over the starting spot in center, with the other kept as the fourth outfielder.

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