The St. Louis Cardinals are headed for an unprecedented season that will focus on developing their youth core, so they’ll need all the help they can get to remain competitive.
Fortunately, the Cardinals have a relatively healthy roster and several key veterans remain to mentor former top prospects who’ll likely see much more playing time at the big-league level this upcoming season.
Despite recently suffering an unfortunate injury at spring training, a young St. Louis slugger could be poised for a quick return following his latest status update.
“(Jordan) Walker, who jammed his left knee on Tuesday when he stepped on a sprinkler head while tracking a fly ball in right field, was back in uniform on Friday after reporting a decrease in his pain,” MLB.com’s John Denton reported on Friday. “Walker did some throwing and took practice swings with teammates prior to the Cardinals hosting the (Houston) Astros in their first night game of Spring Training. Walker underwent an MRI on Tuesday night that revealed irritation — but no structural damage — in his knee. The Cardinals planned to keep Walker out of games and baseball activities for at least a week, but they softened that stance on Friday when the outfielder reported feeling significantly less pain in his knee.”
The 22-year-old phenom struggled to replicate his impressive 2023 freshman season last year, logging a lackluster .201/.253/.366 slash line with just five home runs and 50 strikeouts in 51 games played for the Cardinals — resulting in two demotions to Triple-A Memphis.
“‘He’s feeling really good today,’ Cardinals’ manager Oliver Marmol said,” as transcribed by Denton. “’He did treatment, [took] some dry swings, he’s playing catch and he’s feeling good about where he’s at today. His progress has been a little ahead of what I expected, and we’re super encouraged by it.’”
This upcoming season could be Walker’s chance to make or break his future in St. Louis. Last year’s disappointing performance cannot be replicated. Otherwise, the Cardinals might be better off moving on from the former first-round draft pick to give a potentially more deserving outfielder a chance at the show.
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