Cards not backing down from latest adversity

This story was excerpted from John Denton’s Cardinals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

JUPITER, Fla. -- Three weeks from today, the Cardinals will take the field at Dodger Stadium in front of an expected sellout crowd of more than 56,000 fans on hand to shower megastar Shohei Ohtani with cheers and to witness a Dodgers club that spent $1.2 billion to upgrade its roster this offseason.

As if that’s not already a daunting enough task, the Cardinals just might have to take all of that on without their slated Opening Day starting pitcher and their starting center fielder. And the early-season challenges don’t stop there for a Cardinals club looking to bounce back from a down year in 2023: Including the four-game, season-opening series at Dodger Stadium, St. Louis will play 13 of its first 16 games against teams that made the playoffs last season.

It was somewhat fitting that the Redbirds had Wednesday off from all Spring Training action after they were coldcocked on Tuesday with a rather deflating one-two punch to the gut. While there was “encouraging news,” per president of baseball operations John Mozeliak, about the severity of Sonny Gray’s “mild” hamstring strain, even the most Cards-loving optimist peering through rose-colored glasses can’t see a way the 34-year-old right-hander will be ready in time to face the Dodgers on Opening Day.

“Let’s call it for what it is,” said Gray, the Cardinals’ $75 million offseason addition. “It sucks.”

Later came this revelation from manager Oliver Marmol: Tommy Edman, the projected starter in center field, only recently started back playing catch and hitting balls off a tee after lingering pain in his surgically repaired right wrist forced a multiday pause in his rehab. MLB.com and the Cardinals Beat newsletter broke the news of Edman’s offseason wrist surgery in January, and it’s beginning to look like the team’s expectation that Edman would be ready for the start of the season was a tad ambitious. With three weeks remaining in Spring Training, Edman hasn’t even hit pitches from a coach or a machine yet, much less from Dodgers $325 million newcomer Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

What does the Gray and Edman news mean for the Cardinals? They’re going to skip the season-opening trip to L.A.? Wave a white flag and surrender the four games to the stacked Dodgers? Of course not. After all, this Cards team does still have Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado and young mashers Nolan Gorman and Jordan Walker to buoy a lineup.

With Gray likely out for Opening Day and maybe the season’s first week on the West Coast, Miles Mikolas is the most logical replacement -- even though his previous two lid-lifter experiences in 2019 (five hits and five earned runs at the Brewers) and 2023 (10 hits and five earned runs against the Blue Jays) weren’t a success. Mikolas came to camp motivated to prove that his ‘23 struggles were a blip and he’s pitched well thus far in Grapefruit League action.

Marmol noted that Opening Day is different from any other regular-season game because of all the pomp and circumstance surrounding it and that you want a pitcher in that game who “won’t scare.” That’s certainly Mikolas, who welcomes the challenge of being the Opening Day starter.

“If you’re getting butterflies before a big start, that’s a good thing because that means you give a shoot about performing for your team,” Mikolas said. “I’ve come to the revelation that if you don’t like that Opening Day [assignment], you’re in the wrong business. That’s why I’m playing this game. In a place like L.A., hopefully they’re booing me because I’m doing so good.”

Edman’s slow progress has already influenced the Cardinals roster with veteran shortstop Brandon Crawford being signed to back up rookie Masyn Winn. If Edman opens on the injured list, it will almost certainly ensure that Dylan Carlson is the Opening Day center fielder. That’s an opportunity that Carlson relishes, especially with him being at something of a crossroads in his career.

Do the Cardinals then put the trustworthy bat of Alec Burleson or the speed of Victor Scott II on the roster to provide outfield depth? Burleson worked on his body and his defense over the offseason, and he’s handled the bat well this spring. As for Scott, who stole 94 bases last season in the Minors, his time in the big leagues is coming, but the Cardinals want him playing every day if he’s on the roster.

Potentially being without Gray and Edman on Opening Day is an ominous sign for a Cards club hoping to get off to a strong start this season. But Opening Day is just one game and there’s a summer’s worth of baseball still to be played. What is most important for the Cards is getting two of their centerpiece players back healthy when they are ready to contribute over the long season.