St. Louis Cardinals outfielders Jordan Walker and Dylan Carlson were involved in a frightening collision while tracking down a fly ball during Monday's spring training game against the Chicago Cubs. Carlson was reportedly removed from the game following the incident, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
“Collision in the outfield as Jordan Walker crashes into Dylan Carlson in the right-center gap. Walker lunges for the ball, hits Carlson's legs, spins him onto the warning track. Carlson is coming out of game. Neither of them catches the ball,” Goold wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Outfielder Michael Siani replaced Carlson, per John Denton of MLB.com.
Lars Nootbaar and Tommy Edman are already dealing with injuries, so losing Carlson would be a major blow for St. Louis. Carlson appeared to fall on his shoulder, but it is uncertain what his injury is at the moment. Walker appears to have avoided an injury following the collision.
Dylan Carlson's impact on Cardinals
Carlson has potential. He's endured his share of ups and downs at the MLB level, though.
Carlson appeared in just 76 games in 2023. He slashed .219/.318/.333/.651 during the '23 campaign. Still, St. Louis is seemingly willing to give him an opportunity in 2024. The hope, of course, was that Carlson would perform at a more consistent level while staying healthy.
He struggled in 2022 as well, but displayed signs of stardom back in 2021. That season, Carlson slashed .266/.343/.437/.780. He added 18 home runs and 31 doubles.
For now, the Cardinals are hoping for the best possible results following Monday's collision.
Injuries played an unfortunate role in Carlson's limited '23 season. He previously addressed his injury-riddled 2023 campaign, via John Denton of MLB.com.
“Every season is big and important, but, in general with where I’m at, I know it’s important for me to go out there and produce and showcase what I can do coming off this injury,” Carlson said. “Me being able to prove that I can still help this team win games, that’s what it comes down to.”
St. Louis' outfield uncertainty
The Cardinals will have questions to answer if Carlson is forced to miss any time. Walker is not the best defensive outfielder, but his offensive potential will keep him on the big league roster.
With Edman and Nootbaar battling injuries, the Cardinals already had roster questions. If Carlson misses time, Brendan Donovan and Michael Siani may end up starting alongside Walker.
St. Louis has other options as well, but they were likely planning on Carlson and Walker leading the outfield to begin the season. The Cardinals want to bounce back following their abysmal 2023 performance. Injuries, however, will obviously not help matters.
We will continue to monitor and provide updates on Dylan Carlson's injury situation as they are made available.
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