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Unable to do much at all because of a troublesome right wrist that has taken far longer to heal from surgery than anyone imagined and struggling just to stay busy because he’s never been out of baseball this long, Cardinals center fielder Tommy Edman has at least managed to find one silver lining.

Edman’s inactivity following what was initially thought to be a routine wrist surgery in October has allowed him to be more present in the life of his son Eli, who turned six months old a few weeks back. While that might be of little solace to Cardinals fans eager to see the former Gold Glove winner back and back to helping the Cards win games, Edman has savored the unexpectedly extra time he’s gotten with family.

“Family, for sure, is a priority,” Edman said before a recent Cardinals game. “Getting to hang out with my son and see him grow these first six months has been special. It's been fun seeing him respond to me and recognize me. You can see him learning more and more and how his brain is developing crazy amounts every day. So that's been cool.”

What hasn’t been cool has been the pain that has not only kept Edman off the field the entirety of the season, but it has also prevented him from hitting off pitching of any kind. Even though he is seven months out from surgery, Edman is still limited to hitting baseballs off a tee. Trying to advance beyond that stage caused him pain, stiffness and swelling during Spring Training and forced him to be shut down three times.

Never, Edman said repeatedly, did he anticipate that his wrist would still be this much of issue.

“I thought [the surgery] was a one-off thing where I’d get it fixed, get that inflammation down and I’d be back out there like normal,” Edman told MLB.com. “Early in the offseason, it bothered me and I thought I’d have a little cleanup, and it turned out that there was more damage and that meant the recovery would be longer. But even with the surgery they did, they were expecting me to be full go by Spring Training. As I was getting close to spring, swinging definitely didn't feel normal. I tried to ramp up and my wrist just wasn’t having it.”

This whole sitting out of games thing hasn’t set well with Edman, who played in 367 of a possible 384 games from 2020-22, before missing 25 games last July because of wrist pain. After winning a Gold Glove at second base in 2021, Edman showed off his versatility by splitting time at second, shortstop and center field where he was a Gold Glove finalist at the utility spot the past two seasons.

These days, Edman works with outfield coach Willie McGee during pregame and he tracks fly balls during batting practice. But he still can’t take batting practice and he feels a noticeable void in his life once first pitch rolls around. Other than a high school shoulder surgery that kept him out of Fall Ball, he’s never been away from baseball this long.

“The last several years, I've basically been in every game and now I’m observing it from the outside,” he said. “There’s definitely an urge that I have to get back to playing and it feels like there's something missing. Obviously, there is [something missing] and it's frustrating. I just have to trust that the recovery is going to go well.”

Trusting it, Edman admitted, is somewhat difficult considering all the stops and starts he’s had since February. Getting second and third opinions helped, he said, but still his recovery has been tedious because of the delicate nature of wrist injuries. Rushing back now, Edman stressed, would be foolish.

“I learned from the spring, when I was rushing through the progressions a little bit,” he said. “This time we're more intentional with the steps. We want to make sure that I'm confident with each step before advancing.

“It's hard not to think about certain dates, but I try not to, because I don't want to push through something. If my wrist isn't there, I could aggravate it and delay everything. So I try not to have a timetable. I’m allowing my progression to be based on how I'm feeling that day.”

Edman’s hope is that he’s back playing at some point this season so Eli and wife Kristen can watch him at work. He’s already thought about what it’s going to be like sharing baseball with Eli in the future.

“For him to see me out there on the baseball field and then start to recognize, “Oh wait, that's dad out there,’” he said. “That's going to be so cool.”