The St. Louis Cardinals were hoping Jack Flaherty would be sharp in his return to action after missing the first two months of the MLB season while recovering from a shoulder injury. Flaherty made his 2022 debut just a couple of weeks ago, but after just three starts, his shoulder injury has already flared up again. According to ESPN's Jesse Rogers, the Cardinals are placing Flaherty back on the 15-day IL, and will also place outfielder Harrison Bader on the 10-day IL.
This is a huge blow for the Cardinals, who had long been awaiting Flaherty's return to the rotation. After undergoing a shoulder procedure in March, Flaherty returned in mid-June. During his third start of the year, Flaherty exited the game after just two innings of work due to discomfort in that same shoulder.
Cardinals president of baseball operations John Moleziak's comments don't bode well for a quick return for Flaherty, who has battled injuries throughout the past few years.
“Hopefully, it's something that we still see him this year,' Mozeliak said of Flaherty, via ESPN. “I mean, we're pretty optimistic that that will be the case based on what we're hearing. But, you know, clearly it's going to take some more time to get him back.”
As for Bader, the young outfielder has been battling plantar fasciitis, which is the reason for his trip to the IL. Bader indicated he'd been feeling some pain in the foot and wanted to err on the side of caution when it came to his injury. He said he expects it to be a “small stint” on the IL.
While Bader's injury update isn't overly concerning, fans should surely be worried about Flaherty, who has pitched a total of 86.1 innings over the past two seasons, and 126.2 innings over the past three. During that three-year span, Flaherty has made a total of 29 appearances, including 27 starts.
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