By Chris Brown – STL Baseball Today
In a season in which the they’ll held the best record in Major League Baseball for months, injuries have become nothing but routine for the Cardinals in 2015. Mere hours after Rookie of the Year candidate Randal Grichuk landed on the DL with an elbow injury, Jason Heyward – making his first start in center field since 2013 – left Monday night’s game against the Giants after two innings with hamstring tightness, the team announced. (Read more on Heyward’s status here.)
Here’s a few quick updates on two Cardinals players rehabbing from quad injuries, as well as other redbirds hoping to return this season (from MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch):
Matt Adams: When Adams had surgery to repair a quad three quad strain in late May, the general consensus was that he wouldn’t step foot on the field again this season. Since then, the 26-year-old first baseman has progressed much faster than expected, and has already been participating in hitting and fielding drills. Adams will travel to the organization’s spring facility in Jupiter, Florida on Friday to continue to ramp up his rehab work. The current plan is for Adams to begin a rehab assignment before the end of the minor league season, and potentially return to the big league club around mid-September.
Matt Holliday: After aggravating his right quad strain in late July, Matt Holliday is ready to get his rehab going again. The veteran outfielder, who’s already been doing some hitting, could resume running some time this week.
Jon Jay: Also getting in some swings in the batting cages, Jay (left wrist stress reaction) underwent a series of tests on Monday to determine how well he’s regaining strength in his wrist. GM John Mozeliak said that Jay is “getting closer to getting more baseball activity, so it’s something we need to think about and decide what his next step looks like.”
When asked if a return in mid-September would be practical for Adams, Holliday and Jay, Mozeliak said: “I think that’s a fair estimation. I think the most important thing is just trying to get these guys in a situation where, physically, we’re comfortable allowing them to go out.”
Pitching: On the pitching side of things, the results have been a bit less promising. While Mozeliak said that Matt Belisle (right elbow inflammation) is taking “baby steps,” he spoke with much less conviction on the status of Jordan Walden (right biceps inflammation), who is still at a ‘standstill,’ according to Langosch.
Featured image used under Creative Commons by Keith Allison. No changes made. Image license.
Jay image used under Creative Commons from Keith Allison. No changes made. Image license.
