ATLANTA — The midseason break throughout professional baseball gave Tommy Edman time to address an injury that caused a brief setback in his rehab, but he faces another setback nonetheless in his ongoing return to the majors.
Edman received an anti-inflammatory shot and was prescribed rest for pain and swelling that resurfaced in the ankle he twisted while on rehab, manager Oliver Marmol detailed Friday as the Cardinals resumed the regular season at Truist Park. The Cardinals’ switch-hitting utility fielder has not played in the majors yet this summer due to offseason wrist surgery. The soreness in his ankle, which started after he wrenched it doing fielding drills, will mean he’ll go at least nine days between games. He’s yet to play in the field on his rehab assignment.
He’s set to return to a minor-league lineup Tuesday.
The injury pushes back the timetable for his return, Marmol confirmed.
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Edman played four games with Class AA Springfield to begin his official rehab assignment. This past Sunday, he went 2 for 5 with three RBIs. Through four games he was 4 for 14 (.286) with three runs, four RBIs, two walks, and four strikeouts. He’s been able to take swings from both sides of the plate without soreness in his wrist for several weeks, and the purpose of the rehab assignment was to help him recreate a spring training schedule and regain his timing at the plate.
He’s only started at DH in the four games.
Before returning to the majors, the Cardinals want Edman to play multiple positions. Advertised in December as the team’s starting center fielder, the plan now is for Edman to see innings at shortstop, center, and second base during his rehab assignment with time in left and right field also likely.
Earlier this season, Edman said he played through the pain in his wrist and chose to finish last season before having offseason surgery. The surgery to repair his right wrist and remove loose bodies was more extensive than expected, the team and player later confirmed. Although the Cardinals initially said he would be available on opening day, internally they had a far more conservative estimate — targeting the All-Star break for his return to the majors.
This past season, Edman hit .248 with a .307 on-base percentage, and his superb defense in center field made him one of the most valuable Cardinals. Edman won a Gold Glove Award as a utility fielder in 2021.
Doubleheader set for Saturday
Persisting rain throughout the evening and a forecast for foul weather all night prompted the postponement of Friday night’s game. The Cardinals and Braves will attempt to dodge raindrops for a doubleheader Saturday. As scheduled, it will be the Cardinals’ fifth doubleheader of the season and since July 10 six of the Cardinals’ past eight games will have been played in doubleheaders.
The first game is set for a noon start ºüÀêÊÓƵ time and will feature Kyle Gibson as the starter. Sonny Gray will start the night game, which has the originally scheduled time of 6:20 p.m. ºüÀêÊÓƵ time.
Atlanta plans to skip its scheduled Friday starter to Sunday, going with Charlie Morton in Game 1 and adding Bryce Elder as the 27th man to start Game 2.
The Cardinals will be able to add a 27th man for Game 2.
Winn’s golden edge
One of the metrics used to determine the winners of the Rawlings Gold Glove awards ranks Masyn Winn as the top shortstop in the National League through the first half.
And it’s not close.
The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) released the first-half leaders for the SABR Defensive Index, and Winn’s 7.8 SDI ranks fourth in the National League for all positions. His SDI tops the shortstop position, strides ahead of the second-highest at the position, Colorado shortstop Ezequiel Tovar’s 4.3. They are the only shortstops in the NL with an SDI greater than 4.0. The SDI is the statistical element of the annual for the Gold Glove Awards along with the votes of coaches and managers. SDI is used for about 25% of the vote.
Cardinals center fielder Michael Siani ranks third at his position with a 6.3 SDI behind Washington’s Jason Young (7.7 SDI) and Colorado’s Brenton Doyle (6.4 SDI). The only other Cardinal in the top five at his position is Nolan Arenado, whose 1.7 SDI ranks fifth at third base. Milwaukee second baseman Brice Turang leads the NL with a 9.6 SDI.
Setting the rotation
Entering the second half of the season, the Cardinals began by choosing the pitchers for the first two games in Atlanta and scripting the longest rest for a veteran starter. To maximize his starts in the second half, the Cardinals opened with Sonny Gray on Friday night in Atlanta and will follow with Kyle Gibson for Saturday’s game. The Cardinals wanted to give Lance Lynn the most time between starts, Marmol said, and that puts him Tuesday at Pittsburgh.
Miles Mikolas will start the series finale in Atlanta and Andre Pallante is scheduled to start Monday at PNC Park when the Cardinals visit for their final visit in Pittsburgh.
Extra bases
The global IT outage that created widespread travel troubles and ground stops throughout the country delayed the arrivals of several Cardinals to Atlanta. All-Star closer Ryan Helsley and Matt Carpenter, traveling from Oklahoma and Texas, respectively, were expected to reach Atlanta shortly before game time Friday. Coaches Daniel Descalso and Willie McGee also had their travel disrupted and were expected to arrive later Friday. … Riley O’Brien (flexor tendon) is set to begin his rehab assignment Saturday with Class AAA Memphis. The right-hander has gone through a series of live batting practice outings with increasing intensity. When last he attempted to start a rehab assignment, pain returned to his arm and he had to restart his recovery process. … Steven Matz (back injury) will throw a bullpen session at Busch Stadium on Saturday. It will be his second bullpen session and put him within reach of facing hitters in a controlled setting. … Since 2000, the Cardinals have the second-best winning percentage in games after the All-Star break. Only the Yankees’ .584 is better than the Cardinals’ .575.