WASHINGTON -- In activating Kolten Wong from the disabled list Wednesday, the Cardinals' infield grew closer to full strength. The second baseman, however, revealed he'll play the rest of the season at some level below that.
Wong said during his 10 days on the DL, he learned that the left hamstring strain that landed him there is related to a left knee issue that sidelined him earlier in the year. He was informed surgery will be necessary to remove floating cartilage in the knee at some point this offseason.
Wong classified the issue as minor and said he expects to be ready for Opening Day in 2019. St. Louis is planning to reinsert him into its starting lineup on Friday, when the Cardinals open a three-game series in Detroit.
"It's a tolerance issue, so we're going to be mindful of it," Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said. "If it makes sense to give him a blow, we'll give it to him. But I don't expect him to be super limited."
The cartilage issue, Wong said, stems from the inflammation he experienced on July 21 while rounding third base in Chicago. He missed two weeks after that, before embarking on the most productive stretch of his season. Wong was hitting .362 with a .915 OPS in 19 August games before straining his hamstring on Aug. 25 in Denver.
Yairo Munoz and Greg Garcia largely split second-base duties in his absence, and both have been used, along with Patrick Wisdom, to cover for third baseman Jedd Gyorko, who has been out since Aug. 28 with a left groin strain.
Molina named Cards' Clemente Award nominee
Yadier Molina was named the Cardinals' 2018 nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, an annual recognition given to a player from each club who best represents the game of baseball through character, community involvement and philanthropy.
The league-wide winner of the Clemente Award will be selected by a blue-ribbon panel that includes Commissioner Rob Manfred, Clemente's wife and current MLB Goodwill Ambassador Vera Clemente, as well as representatives from MLB-affiliated networks and MLB.com. Fans can also vote for the winner at mlb.com/clemente21, with the winner of that tally counting as one vote among those cast by the panel.
Molina earned the nomination for his charitable efforts in his native Puerto Rico, which expanded last year after the island was devastated by Hurricane Maria. He has raised more than $800,000 to aid in recovery efforts to date.
Molina will be recognized in a pregame on-field ceremony prior on Sept. 11 at Busch Stadium. The last Cardinals player to win the award was Carlos Beltran in 2013.
Norris to get two days off
A day after Bud Norris' second consecutive tough outing cast a shadow over his status as the team's closer, Shildt remained noncommittal on who would handle ninth-inning situations going forward. With Norris unavailable for the next two days due to workload -- he threw 47 pitches over the last two days, allowing five runs and recording four outs -- Shildt said he's pushed the decision to later in the week.
Shildt named Jordan Hicks, Dakota Hudson and Carlos Martinez as candidates to close in place of Norris.
"You don't want to be shortsighted with the fact there have been two days that have been less than positive, for Bud and for us," Shildt said. "You also want to be mindful of the body of work over the course of the year, which has been pretty darn good.
"The reality is it's something we need to look at. But another reality is April, May, June and July were pretty good," Shildt continued. "I can't answer in the absolute. Listen, I trust Bud. He's done a great job for us, and I expect him to continue to get high-leverage situations and late in the game."
Cardinals prospects honored for August
Teenager infielder Malcom Nunez and right-handed starter Jake Walsh were named the organization's Minor League Player of the Month and Pitcher of the Month for August. Nunez, 17, hit .420 with nine home runs and 34 RBI over 22 games in the month, leading the Dominican Summer League Cardinals to their first postseason appearance in franchise history. Primarily a third baseman, Nunez won the league's triple crown and also led the league in on-base and slugging percentage.
Walsh went 2-2 with a 1.38 ERA across five starts, striking out 25 and walking four in 26 innings for Class A Advanced Palm Beach. The 23-year-old was the Cardinals' 16th-round Draft pick in 2017.