Carlson contemplating season-ending ankle surgery

ST. LOUIS -- Maybe no hard-luck player on the Cardinals roster typifies the kind of frustration-filled, sour season the team has been through than 24-year-old outfielder Dylan Carlson, who sat on the Cardinals’ bench on Saturday nursing not one but two injuries.

To further add to Carlson’s frustration is this nugget of news: He told MLB.com that he might need season-ending ankle surgery in the coming weeks and his next game action could be as far off as Spring Training in 2024.

Carlson, who has been limited to just 76 games because of injuries and overcrowding in the Cardinals outfield, was placed on the 10-day injured list on Aug. 12 with a left oblique strain that happened in the weirdest of ways. While the Grade 2 oblique injury could keep him out the next six weeks, Carlson might opt for the surgery on his left ankle to clean up damage caused by a nasty sprain on May 14.

“That’s definitely the goal, to get back as soon as possible, but we’re taking this time now to look at the ankle,” said a frustrated Carlson, who looked on as the Cardinals were throttled 13-2 by the Mets for their fourth straight loss. “[The ankle injury] was something we saw earlier in the year when I originally hurt it in Boston. That was something that we realized might need some more [surgical] attention down the road, so we’re taking a look at it again.”

Initial tests this week revealed lingering damage in an ankle Carlson injured while leaving the batter’s box after lacing a single into right field at Fenway Park on May 14. Because the game was being played on Mother’s Day, Carlson was wearing pink cleats that he had never worn before. Carlson and the Cards are still awaiting word on a final diagnosis about the condition of the ankle, and an arthroscopic procedure could be coming that would end his 2023 season prematurely.

“There’s a couple of tests and imaging that took place that we haven’t gotten final [recommendation] on,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “We’re still waiting on [the diagnosis], and the ankle might be more concerning than the oblique at this point. They haven’t given me what the definitive next steps are, but everything is on the table [in terms of a possible season-ending surgery.]”

Carlson’s injuries are just more blows to a Cardinals club that is without Nolan Gorman (lower back strain) and Lars Nootbaar (lower abdomen contusion), while Brendan Donovan (flexor tendon surgery) and Packy Naughton (flexor tendon surgery) are out for the season with arm injuries.

Despite being the favorite to repeat as NL Central Division champs, per FanGraphs, the Cardinals have suffered through their worst season in decades. Incredibly, the Cardinals have been outright in last place in the NL Central at the conclusion of 86 out of their 124 games, and they tied a season-low on Saturday of 16 games below .500. They will need a rally to keep their NL-best active streak of 15 consecutive winning seasons that dates to 2008 alive.

Carlson, who adhered to a strict weight-lifting program and a 4,500-calorie daily diet in the offseason to try and bulk up, could serve as the poster boy of the Cardinals' lost season. When rookies Jordan Walker and Alec Burleson made the Opening Day roster, it forced Carlson -- a 2016 first-round Draft pick and a third-place finisher in the 2021 National League Rookie of the Year voting -- into more of a reserve role.

Carlson finally pushed his way back to being a regular in the starting lineup by mid-May, but then came the ankle injury that would linger the rest of the season and restrict his movement as a defender and a hitter. For the season, Carlson is tied for second among all Cardinals outfielders in outs above average (2) with Nootbaar, trailing only Tommy Edman (5), per Baseball Savant. Offensively, he has hit just .219 with five homers and 27 RBIs.

Still a Cardinal following a Trade Deadline where his name was bandied about in various potential deals, Carlson saw his playing time pick up in early August before the injury bug struck again. How Carlson aggravated his oblique injury perfectly sums up what a forgettable season it has been for him and the slumping Cards.

“I took a swing in Tampa and felt some discomfort,” Carlson said. “I was hoping it was just a spasm or something that would go away. I made it through the game with some discomfort -- nothing I hadn’t grinded through before.

“I was optimistic I had avoided something serious, and the next morning I woke up and sneezed and felt a pretty sharp discomfort in my left side,” Carlson added, while shaking his head in disgust. “That [MRI] revealed the Grade 2 oblique strain. It’s been that kind of year.”