LATEST NEWS

June 4: RHP Chris Roycroft recalled from Triple-A Memphis; RHP Ryan Loutos optioned to Triple-A
Roycroft, 26, has a 6.00 ERA in five games this season with St. Louis. He’s gone 1-0 with two saves and a 0.98 ERA in 14 games with Memphis this year. Loutos pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings over his first two big league appearances for the Cardinals.

June 4: RHP Keynan Middleton to have season-ending forearm surgery
Middleton, who has not pitched for the Cardinals after signing with St. Louis in the offseason, will have season-ending flexor repair surgery next week, manager Oliver Marmol said. Middleton met with a specialist on Monday after undergoing an MRI on the flexor tendon in his right forearm last week. More >>

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10-DAY/15-DAY INJURED LIST

LHP Steven Matz (lower back strain)
Expected return: Mid-June
Matz will begin a rehabilitation assignment on June 6 with Triple-A Memphis, where he is scheduled to throw two to three innings and 40-45 pitches, manager Oliver Marmol said. Out since May 3 with a lower back strain, Matz felt lingering pain after a mound session at Busch Stadium on May 10 and was shut down for a bit so that he could receive treatment.

Matz last pitched for the Cardinals on April 30 while battling back stiffness and pain, and he surrendered four earned runs over 3 1/3 innings. (Last updated: June 4)

RHP Keynan Middleton (right forearm flexor surgery)
Expected return: 2025
Middleton will undergo season-ending right flexor repair surgery, manager Oliver Marmol said on June 4. “In order for him to have any shot of being ready for 2025, it’s the best option, so his season will be over,” Marmol said. After spending several weeks rehabilitating and strengthening his forearm, Middleton recently made five appearances and compiled a 2.25 ERA for Double-A Springfield. However, pain returned in the forearm following relief appearances on May 22-23. (Last updated: June 4)

RHP Giovanny Gallegos (right shoulder impingement)
Expected return: Mid-June
Gallegos threw a scoreless inning with a strikeout in a rehab outing for Triple-A Memphis on May 31. Manager Oliver Marmol said Gallegos came out of the outing “well” and was scheduled to appear again in another rehab outing on June 4.

“Our hope is at some point we would like to get him a back to back,” Marmol said.

The right-hander, who has been losing velocity since 2022 and was hit hard this season, was placed on the 15-day IL with a right shoulder impingement on May 6. Coming into the season, Gallegos had been one of the Majors’ most durable pitchers, leading the National League in appearances (268) and innings pitched as a reliever (283 1/3) since ‘19. But this season, he allowed 12 earned runs in nine innings. He did not retire a batter in either of his last two outings, and the average velocity on his fastball dropped from 94.3 mph to 92.1 mph from ‘22 to ‘24. The hard-hit percentage on that pitch climbed from 46.5 percent to 81.8 percent. (Last updated: June 3)

OF Lars Nootbaar (oblique strain)
Expected return: Mid-June
Nootbaar was placed on the 10-day IL, retroactive to May 30, on May 31 after straining his left oblique while checking a swing in the seventh inning of a win over the Reds. Nootbaar, who missed most of Spring Training and the first 13 games of this season with two fractured ribs, has now been on the IL five times in the past two seasons. He is hitting .234 with five home runs and 19 RBIs. (Last updated: May 31)

RHP Nick Robertson (right elbow inflammation)
Expected return: Mid-to-late June
Robertson said he felt tightness while playing catch before a game during the week of May 20, but he doesn’t expect a prolonged stay on the IL. Robertson, who was acquired in a trade with Boston on December 8, is 0-0 with a 4.38 ERA in eight appearances this season. The move to the IL is retroactive to May 23. (Last updated: May 26)

C Willson Contreras (left forearm fracture)
Expected return: Mid-July
Contreras, who had surgery last week to repair a fracture in the ulna bone of his left forearm, arrived in the clubhouse on May 17 wearing only a small plastic cover over the incision area. Contreras said the protective cast over his left forearm was removed just a few days after surgery, and he noted that he is hopeful of returning before the break for the All-Star Game in mid-July. The catcher, whose forearm was injured when it was hit by the bat of Mets slugger J.D. Martinez on May 7, said he has already resumed conditioning drills and he is hopeful that doctors will soon allow him to swing at pitches using only his right arm and hand. For now, Contreras said his only mission is to show support and be of assistance to Cardinals rookie catchers Iván Herrera and Pedro Pagés. (Last updated: May 17)

60-DAY INJURED LIST

RHP Riley O'Brien (flexor tendon strain)
Expected return: TBD
O’Brien, who was one of the Cardinals’ top pitchers in Spring Training, was scheduled to throw a third bullpen session on June 4, manager Oliver Marmol said. “He is getting closer to getting into a game, but right now it is a matter of bullpens,” Marmol said. O’Brien was moved to the 60-day injured list on May 10. He struck out Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani on Opening Day in an inning in which he allowed one run, but he felt tightness in his right forearm the next day. (Last updated: June 4)

CF Tommy Edman (right wrist surgery)
Expected return: TBD
The switch-hitting Edman, who has yet to fully go through baseball activities after undergoing wrist surgery in October, has progressed to short-hand flips, according to Marmol. Because of previous pain and swelling, Edman had been limited to swinging from the left side. He was transferred to the 60-day injured list on May 6.

Edman, who signed a two-year, $16 million contract extension in January to avoid salary arbitration proceedings, was shut down four times in Spring Training because of lingering pain and swelling in his wrist. Edman said he got second and third opinions from independent doctors during Spring Training, and he was assured that the wrist is structurally sound.

"This time around," manager Oliver Marmol said April 29, "he's been good and recovering really well." (Last updated: May 13)

LHP Drew Rom (left shoulder surgery)
Expected return: September
Rom, who was acquired last July in a trade with the Orioles, underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder that might allow him to return later this season, manager Oliver Marmol said. Marmol dubbed the procedure as “a best-case scenario,” and is hopeful Rom can return in the fall.

Rom, 24, made three starts in Spring Training before being put on the injured list with shoulder trouble. He was later moved to the 60-day IL.

After being acquired in the trade centered around Jack Flaherty, Rom made his MLB debut in 2023 with the Cardinals. In eight starts, Rom was 1-4 with an 8.06 ERA. His first MLB win was over the Orioles in Baltimore. (Last updated: May 9)

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