Cardinals' Walden out 6-10 weeks with shoulder strain
The red-hot St. Louis Cardinals could be without one of their top relievers until after the All-Star break.
Right-hander Jordan Walden is expected to need 6-to-10 weeks to rehab his bothersome throwing arm after an MRI revealed a strain in his right shoulder, general manager John Mozeliak told reporters Wednesday.
Walden, who was placed on the disabled list with biceps inflammation Saturday, sought the opinion of a second doctor after failing to notice improvement over the last few days. It was initially feared that Walden could require surgery, but Mozeliak said that no longer appears to be an option.
"Given his mechanics, I think there's just a lot of stress in that area," Mozeliak said prior to Wednesday's MRI results. "We knew that (before acquiring him), but we're hopeful that we can still get a lot out of him."
The injury is a blow to the Cardinals, who entered play Wednesday with the best record in the majors at 20-6. Walden, who signed a two-year extension with the club after being acquired from the Atlanta Braves in the offseason, has been a key part of that success.
The 27-year-old allowed just one run in 10 1/3 innings this season while pitching mostly out of the eighth inning as the setup man to closer Trevor Rosenthal. He spent the previous two seasons in Atlanta where he owned a 3.15 ERA and 10.8 strikeout per nine rate over 108 appearances.
Mozeliak indicated Wednesday that the eighth-inning duties will fall to right-hander Seth Maness, who's pitched to a 3.09 ERA and 1.11 WHIP across 11 2/3 innings this season.