As he dealt with a sprained finger during the Cardinals’ recent stop in Pittsburgh, third baseman Nolan Arenado feels the different grip he used to swing a bat while on the road “maybe played a factor” in the right shoulder impingement that scratched him on Saturday and has kept him day-to-day since.
“It wasn’t from throwing, it’s from hitting,” Arenado said on Tuesday when the Cardinals returned to Busch Stadium. “Throwing feels great. I played long toss two days ago on Sunday night, and it felt amazing. Just hitting, kind of going across the body doesn’t feel great.”
Arenado, 34, was absent from the Cardinals’ starting lineup on Tuesday in their series opener against the Nationals. The veteran third baseman said he felt “drastically” better than he did during the Cardinals’ off-day Monday and on Sunday during the Cardinals’ series finale vs. the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
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Before the Cardinals’ three-city road trip reached Chicago this past weekend, Arenado was forced to exit the final game in a set of three in Cleveland after spraining the finger. That discomfort forced him to miss the final two games in Pittsburgh.
The 34-year-old described his physical activity as being able to do “whatever” based on pain tolerance. Eyeing a return on Wednesday, Arenado said he looked to stay away from playing catch to avoid any setbacks and avoid swinging on Tuesday.
Manager Oliver Marmol said if Arenado had not felt progress, or experienced a setback, with his right shoulder then there would have “probably” been a conversation around the possibility of placing the third baseman on the injured list. Marmol said he would be “surprised” if Arenado does not return to the lineup on Wednesday.
With the Sunday marking the final day before the All-Star break, Arenado said on Tuesday afternoon that he and the team’s training staff had not gone over the possibility of an IL stint. He said it would be “important to ... not force anything” with the break looming but added that “if I feel good enough, I’m going to play.”
“I know my body well enough to let them know, and I know I trust them, too. We’ll be on the same page,” Arenado said.
Herrera, Walker updates
Catcher/designated hitter Ivan Herrera could begin a rehab assignment later this week following a positive week of progress in his left hamstring. Herrera, who said he could join Class AAA Memphis by Thursday or Friday, said he has felt fine running the bases and squatting.
He expects to begin his rehab assignment as a designated hitter before builds his workload and gets innings at catcher.
The timeline would put him on track to return after the All-Star break.
“I’ve been doing everything,” Herrera said. “Right now, I feel really good. Ready to go. Nothing is stopping me from doing any baseball activity.”
Though he has felt fine from a health standpoint, right fielder Jordan Walker remained with Class AA Springfield (Missouri) on Tuesday to continue getting game reps to work on his timing at the plate and adjustments with his stance.
The time with Springfield could allow Walker, who went on the IL with appendicitis near the end of June, to build comfort with his stance before returning to major league game action.
When Walker could be activated and rejoin the Cardinals is unclear.
Nats’ new manager reflects on Cards time
Near tears as he described the “rough 48 hours” before the start of his first series this week as Washington’s new interim manager, Miguel Cairo said he sought the “blessing” of his friend and former Nationals manager Dave Martinez before accepting the job.
Cairo also said he heard from a figure he considers “like a father” — Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa, who had Cairo on his Cardinals’ teams from 2001-03 and again in 2007 before hiring him later as a coach.
Cairo saw the symmetry of his first game as manager being in ӣƵ.
“From the beginning, when I started playing over here, (La Russa) always taught me to pay attention to the game,” Cairo said. “He asked me questions — why this happened, what do you think is going to happen? Every little detail. He was already teaching me how to do things. That’s honestly when I learned to play the game the right way and how to win. (This) is where I learned as a player what it takes to be a winner.”
Extra bases
Top prospect JJ Wetherholt is expected to continue receiving playing time at second base and at third base following his promotion to Class AAA Memphis. Wetherholt, 22, has primarily played shortstop since making his professional debut. He played third base and second base while at West Virginia University.
- The rotation shuffle the Cardinals announced Monday that lined up Sonny Gray to start Tuesday vs. Washington has Andre Pallante scheduled to start Wednesday and Miles Mikolas in line for Thursday. Starters for Friday and Saturday are listed as “TBA.” The Cardinals are still working through conversations regarding Saturday, which would be Erick Fedde’s turn in the rotation.
- The Cardinals and Audacy announced Tuesday a multiyear extension of their broadcast partnership, which will KMOX (104.1 FM and 1120 AM) the flagship home of Cardinals baseball. The extension runs through 2030.
- Right-handed pitcher Hancel Rincon and infielder Deniel Ortiz were, respectively, named Cardinals minor league pitcher and player of the month for July. Rincon, 23, went 2-1 with a 3.42 ERA and struck out 37 batters across five appearances, four of which came in Class AA and one in Class High-A. Ortiz, 20, batted .333 and posted a 1.005 on-base plus slugging percentage in 21 games for Class Low-A Palm Beach.
Post-Dispatch reporter Derrick Goold contributed to this report.
In today’s 10 AM “Ten Hochman” video, Ben Hochman discusses Cardinals optimism due to the upcoming schedule! Plus, a happy birthday shoutout to José Jiménez! And as always, Hochman picks a random Cards card out of the hat!
