{"id":79736,"date":"2024-07-11T17:28:46","date_gmt":"2024-07-11T21:28:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=79736"},"modified":"2024-07-11T17:28:46","modified_gmt":"2024-07-11T21:28:46","slug":"cardinals-tommy-edman-nearing-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/07\/11\/cardinals-tommy-edman-nearing-return\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardinals Gold Glover Nearing Return, Hoping to Fit Back Into Crowded Outfield"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>St. Louis Cardinals Gold Glover <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/e\/edmanto01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-07-11_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tommy Edman<\/a> is nearing his return and season debut after having offseason wrist surgery last October. He will return to a crowded outfield with the potential to fill a major hole in the roster. He will be the latest in a string of key players to return from the IL over the course of about a month.<\/p>\n<h2>Cardinals&#8217; Tommy Edman Nearing Return<\/h2>\n<p>Wrist surgery after the season has kept Edman from any game action since 2023. He started his rehab assignment on Tuesday with the Cardinals Double-A affiliate in Springfield, MO. He will play both infield and outfield positions during his rehab, which the organization expects to last a couple of weeks.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Tommy Edman&#8217;s first hit of the 2024 season comes in Springfield: an RBI knock through the left side in his first rehab game. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/uAVrJdR0nb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/uAVrJdR0nb<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Springfield Cardinals (@Sgf_Cardinals) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Sgf_Cardinals\/status\/1810841866398511380?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">July 10, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cNow it\u2019s going to be to ramp him up, get him to game speed,&#8221; said Cardinals President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak on Sunday to KMOX radio. &#8220;We have to be patient; we also have to treat it like he needs a mini\u2013Spring Training. As much as you can replicate some things, the one thing you can\u2019t do is game action or live BP.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Mozeliak said he expects Edman back after the All-Star Break and sometime in July. In Edman&#8217;s first game with Springfield, he went 1-for-3 with an RBI single.<\/p>\n<h3>Cardinals Need a Right-Handed Bat<\/h3>\n<p>The Cardinals have had several unexpected standouts in their outfield this season. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/burleal01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-07-11_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Alec Burleson<\/a> has proven to be one of the best bats in the league since taking over a starting role. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/sianimi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-07-11_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Michael Siani<\/a> has played passable offense with some of the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/06\/28\/rookie-outfielder-defensive-weapon\/\" target=\"_self\">best defense<\/a> in the league. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/d\/donovbr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-07-11_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brendan Donovan<\/a> has delivered in the clutch and put up decent numbers.<\/p>\n<p>Despite that, there is a glaring hole in their outfield rotation: there is only one player who can give a right-handed at-bat, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/carlsdy01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-07-11_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dylan Carlson<\/a>. He has given the least to be excited about this season of the five outfielders on the roster. Carlson is a switch hitter, while Burleson, Sianni, Donovan, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/07\/08\/lars-nootbaar-activated-injured-list\/\" target=\"_self\">recently activated<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/n\/nootbla01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-07-11_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lars Nootbaar<\/a> are all lefties. Edman would be the Cardinals&#8217; best option as a right-handed batter.<\/p>\n<p>The organization expected former <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/05\/29\/cardinals-jordan-walker-improving-triple-a\/\" target=\"_self\">top prospect<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/w\/walkejo02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-07-11_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jordan Walker<\/a> to be a key right-handed bat in the outfield, but his struggles to start the season have put him in Triple-A. The Cardinals are 32-33 against right-handed starting pitchers and 16-11 against left-handed. Against righties, the Cardinals have the sixth-highest batting average in the MLB at .252. Against lefties, they have the second-worst at .223.<\/p>\n<p>Edman is a switch hitter whose numbers are fairly even when batting left or right. He batted .248 against right-handed pitching in 2023. Over his career, he bats .261 against righties.<\/p>\n<h3>Latest in a String of Returning Starters<\/h3>\n<p>If Edman returns after the All-Star break as expected, he will be the third presumed starter to come off the IL in about a month. First, it was <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/06\/24\/willson-contreras-returns-injured-list\/\" target=\"_self\">catcher<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/contrwi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-07-11_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Willson Contreras<\/a>, then Nootbaar. Mozeliak said it changes the complexion of the offense.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cFrom that standpoint, the everyday club is going to change from what it\u2019s looked like the past few months,&#8221; Mozeliak said on Sunday.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>While it does complicate things from a lineup standpoint, it&#8217;s also exciting for a Cardinals team <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/05\/28\/hot-streak-cardinals-season\/\" target=\"_self\">that is surging<\/a>. An excited manager <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/managers\/marmool99.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Oliver Marmol<\/a> told reporters he was excited about the team getting healthier ahead of Nootbaar&#8217;s return.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;It\u2019s exciting to have him back,&#8221; Marmol said. &#8220;Team is playing well, anytime you can inject a good player into a team that is doing well, that&#8217;s a good thing. So, we\u2019re excited about it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Photo Credit: \u00a9 Ray Acevedo-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>St. Louis Cardinals Gold Glover Tommy Edman is nearing his return and season debut after having offseason wrist surgery last October. He will return to a crowded outfield with the potential to fill a major hole in the roster. He will be the latest in a string of key players to return from the IL [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5111,"featured_media":79757,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25,1071,35],"tags":[28578,3338,2513,6383,5478,28577,6420,3899,1478],"class_list":["post-79736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cardinals","category-mlb","category-news","tag-alec-burleson","tag-dylan-carlson","tag-injured-list","tag-jordan-walker","tag-lars-nootbaar","tag-michael-siani","tag-oliver-marmol","tag-tommy-edman","tag-willson-contreras"],"modified_by":"Lewis Masella, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79736","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5111"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79736"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79736\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}