The St. Louis Cardinals have lost three of their first five games to start the 2024 campaign, after coming off a season where they finished 71-91 and in last place in the National League Central Division standings a year ago. But perhaps even worse than their sluggish start has been that they’ve also dealt with an accompaniment of injuries to add to the insult.
With prominent position players and pitchers on the shelf, third-year manager Oliver Marmol had to shuffle his lineup and rotation before leaving spring training. Pitcher Sonny Gray – acquired via free agency in the offseason – was scratched from his opening-day start.
At the same time, emerging outfielders Dylan Carlson, Lars Nootbaar, and super utilityman Tommy Edman couldn’t quite get out of the gate, either. However, some recent reports have stated the Cardinals could be getting some of those veterans back on the big-league roster very soon.
Injured Outfielders Are Making Healthy Progress
The Cardinals’ outfield got hit the hardest during the spring spree of injuries. Nootbaar was diagnosed with two displaced ribs, while Carlson has been sidelined with shoulder problems.
According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “Carlson received a platelet-rich plasma injection last week to encourage healing within the AC joint sprain in his left shoulder. Carlson separated the shoulder in a collision with a teammate last Monday.”
In the same report, Goold further explained that the injection can be followed by up to 72 hours of inactivity. Carlson – a versatile fielder and former Gold Glove winner – was originally expected to be the team’s fourth outfielder to start the year. He hasn’t resumed baseball activities yet but is expected to begin a four-to-six-week rehab assignment soon.
“He’ll continue to make progress from a strength standpoint before baseball activity, so he has to get to a spot where that’s in a good place before he starts swinging again and doing other things,” Marmol told MLB.com. “I don’t want to say lengthy [for Carlson’s return], but we’re not doing baseball activity just yet.”
Nootbaar was tabbed to be the team’s starting right fielder. Meanwhile, Tommy Edman was set to move to centerfield this season, after previously winning a Gold Glove as a second baseman in 2021.
Unfortunately for St. Louis, Edman was unable to take at-bats during spring training. The timetable for his debut is now expected to be sometime in mid-May, according to the Cardinals’ official injury report.
Nootbar – injured during a collision with right fielder Jordan Walker during an early exhibition game against the Houston Astros – is slated to return later this week. That could give the team much more flexibility, but it’s not certain that he’ll play during the home opener on Thursday, according to MLB.com’s John Denton.
Cardinals Pitching Staff Hit With Another Unfortunate Injury
The news hasn’t been all good in Cardinal Nation, however. Despite a masterful, seven-inning performance by newcomer Kyle Gibson against the San Diego Padres on Monday night, plenty of questions remain regarding the Redbirds’ staff.
Reliever Riley O’Brien made his Cardinals’ debut during the opening series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but experienced arm pain the next morning. The right-hander was diagnosed with a flexor tendon strain and was placed on the 15-day injured list. He’ll undergo further testing this week in St. Louis.
The Cardinals (2-3) will wrap up their series in San Diego before they return to the Gateway City for their home opener on April 4 against the Miami Marlins.
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