The injury that could force Cards to make moves

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.

There are bad days, and then there are ones like Sunday, when the bad news kept coming at the Cardinals like a flurry of haymakers that left them bloodied, battered and understandably wobbly.

As if losing to the rebuilding Reds and losing a series in Cincinnati weren’t bad enough, the Cardinals learned that they likely lost pitcher Steven Matz for an extended period with a knee injury. They also lost their two best players -- Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado -- for the upcoming two-game series in Toronto.

While Goldschmidt and Arenado’s decisions to not get vaccinated and ultimately disqualify themselves from being able to cross the Canadian border drew the most headlines, it’s the loss of Matz that might prove to be the most damaging.

In addition to being two of the game’s brightest stars, Arenado and Goldschmidt are known for their selfless styles when it comes to sacrificing themselves for the good of their team. However, they chose not to get vaccinated and will not be with their teammates when they face the Blue Jays on Tuesday and Wednesday. Arenado and Goldschmidt have known of this pending issue for months, but their hope was that Canada would eventually soften its vaccine mandates. When it didn’t, the Cardinals boarded their flight to Toronto sans their two biggest weapons.

“It’s disappointing, and it’s something I’m not happy about,” Arenado said of leaving his team shorthanded. “I know it’s only two games, but it’s still an important two games with how we’re playing, we’re in the second half [of the season] and where we’re at [in the standings]. It hurts and I’m not happy about it.”

As for Matz, he showed the baseball world exactly why the Cardinals signed him to a four-year, $44 million free-agent deal, repeatedly blowing away the Reds with a two-seam fastball that repeatedly touched 96 and 95 mph on the radar gun. In his first start after a two-month stint on the injured list, Matz limited the Reds to two runs and three hits in 5 1/3 innings.

However, disaster hit when he threw his 90th pitch of the night and Joey Votto hit what looked to be a harmless slow roller up the first-base line. After Matz mishandled the grounder, his right ankle turned, and his left cleat slid in the dirt. He ended up with a torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee -- an injury that could require season-ending surgery or one that could be repaired through rest and rehab. That direction will be determined after Matz sees team orthopedist Dr. George Paletta on Monday.

“Coming back off the IL and pitching like I did just makes it even more frustrating,” Matz said on Sunday.

This is where the Cardinals must act quickly before letting the loss of Matz submarine the pitching staff. The franchise does expect to get Dakota Hudson back by Saturday in Washington following a strong Triple-A outing on Sunday, but that still leaves the Cardinals with just four starters.

With a couple of off-days mixed in, the Cardinals can get away with a four-man rotation until the Aug. 5 start of the home series against the Yankees, manager Oliver Marmol said. Still, the franchise had better be proactive in looking for a veteran starter who can be counted on for stability and innings. Jon Lester, J.A. Happ and Wade LeBlanc weren’t sexy additions last season, but they definitely helped stabilize a rocky situation. That Cardinals team, of course, went on to surge into the playoffs following a late-season push.

Once again, the Cardinals will need to find some veteran arms -- and find them quickly -- to help avoid having more awful days like the one they were forced to endure on Sunday.