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Miles Mikolas Shut Down For Seven To Ten Days

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March 12: Mikolas won’t throw for the next seven to ten days, Mozeliak tells Goold. An MRI taken of his right shoulder did not reveal any structural issues but did show some inflammation. Mikolas will undergo further testing in the coming days once the inflammation subsides a bit.

March 11: Cardinals right-hander Miles Mikolas has been slowed by shoulder troubles thus far this spring, but the club received generally positive results after a wave of imaging yesterday, it seems. Manager Mike Shildt told reporters this morning that Wednesday’s wave of tests did not reveal any structural damage in Mikolas’ shoulder or elsewhere in his arm (Twitter link via Rob Rains of StlSportsPage.com). Shildt described the results as “favorable,” but he’ll also be backed off his throwing program for the time being.

It’s unclear at this point just when Mikolas will be ready to return to the mound. The Post-Dispatch’s Derrick Goold wrote yesterday that the club does not expect Mikolas to be ready to begin the regular season in the rotation, which would create some uncertainty at the back of the rotation early in the year. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak has already indicated that touted but oft-injured righty Alex Reyes will be used as a multi-inning piece out of the bullpen, with a target of around 100 innings hopefully on the docket.

At present, the Cardinals’ top three options are set with Jack Flaherty, Adam Wainwright and Kwang Hyun Kim all locked in. Righty Carlos Martinez has oscillated between starter and reliever over the course of his five-year contract extension, but given this year’s $11MM salary and the growing need for starters, it seems likely he’ll open the year in the rotation as well.

The Cards have plenty of depth options in their ranks. Righty Daniel Ponce de Leon has fared better as a reliever in his limited big league career to this point, but he does have 20 serviceable MLB starts under his belt. Fellow right-hander John Gant was used exclusively out of the ’pen in 2019-20 but also made 19 starts for the Cardinals in 2018 and threw well in that showing. Lefty Genesis Cabrera has been used primarily as a reliever in the Majors over the past two seasons but has almost exclusively started as a minor leaguer. Prospects Johan Oviedo and Jake Woodford both made their Major League debuts in 2020 as well.

It wouldn’t be a shock if the Cardinals looked into some additional starting options — they reportedly had some degree of interest in Jake Odorizzi — though the in-house depth they have should be able to hold things down as long as Mikolas isn’t in line for a significant absence. If the Cardinals do want to add some veteran depth, there are still a few free agents of note on the market, including Rick Porcello, Trevor Cahill and Homer Bailey. Others could hit the market in the coming weeks as veterans exercise opt-out provisions in non-roster deals around the league, and at least a handful of depth options figure to hit waivers as teams continue to inch closer to setting Opening Day rosters.

NL Injury Notes: Soroka, Mikolas, Kelly, Martinez

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Mike Soroka threw two innings in “simulated game conditions” this morning, reports David O’Brien of the Athletic. That marks a key milestone in the 23-year-old’s recovery from the ruptured Achilles that ended his 2020 season last August. It remains unclear precisely when Soroka will be ready to pitch this year, although O’Brien notes there has been “widespread speculation” of a late April or early May return. Soroka has a 2.86 ERA/4.33 SIERA over his first 214 big league innings.

The latest on some other health situations around the National League:

  • Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas had been expected to throw a bullpen session today, but that’ll be pushed back to Wednesday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat were among those to note. Manager Mike Shildt said the right-hander feels good but wouldn’t guarantee Mikolas will be ready for Opening Day. Mikolas missed the entire 2020 season after undergoing surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his forearm, but the current issue is a “creaky” shoulder, notes Zachary Silver of MLB.com.
  • Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly looks unlikely to be ready for Opening Day, per Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). The right-hander has been dealing with shoulder soreness, but he has been able to throw a few bullpen sessions recently, per Juan Toribio of MLB.com. The hard-throwing Kelly spent a month on the injured list last season with shoulder inflammation.
  • José Martínez has a “twisted left knee” after colliding with an umpire during today’s Spring Training contest, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com was among those to report. He’ll likely go for an MRI tomorrow. The Mets signed the 32-year-old Martínez this winter after he struggled through a down 2020 season split between the Rays and Cubs. A significant injury would be a blow to his chances of earning a backup first base/corner outfield role this spring.

NL Central Notes: Contreras, Mikolas, Brewers

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Willson Contreras “wasn’t bothered at all” by trade speculation during the offseason, and if anything, the catcher was flattered by other teams’ interest.  “The rumors didn’t bother me,” Contreras told The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney and other reporters.  “It’s the other way — those rumors make me proud because of where I come from, everything that I’ve done to be where I’m at….I went through it relaxed because if I got traded, I know that I’m ready to play anywhere and everywhere.”

Like fellow Cubs teammates Javier Baez and Kris Bryant have stated in recent days, Contreras would welcome any extension talks with the team, saying “obviously, I’m willing to listen to whatever they have.”  Baez and Bryant are entering their final season before free agency while Contreras is under team control through 2022, so Chicago may not quite have as much urgency to explore a longer-term deal with the catcher just yet, though it would be surprising if the Cubs didn’t at least broach the subject with Contreras and his representatives this spring.  Contreras said that he is “just not thinking about” contract talks for now, as “my main focus is on this year.”

More from the NL Central…

  • Cardinals righty Miles Mikolas “will be pushed back just a little bit” from his first outing of the spring, manager Mike Shildt told reporters (including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch).  Mikolas was scheduled to pitch during a simulated game on Monday, after throwing some live batting practice to teammates last week.  “For now it’s caution,” Shildt said, and a team official told Goold that there is “very low” concern about Mikolas for the time being, yet any sort of setback has to considered notable considering that Mikolas missed the entire 2020 season.  The right-hander ultimately decided to undergo surgery last August to fix a damaged right flexor tendon, after getting PRP injections both after the 2019 season and in February 2020, and then trying to work through the injury during both the shutdown and in Summer Camp.  The Cards were already planning to bring Mikolas along rather slowly in order to build up his readiness for the start of the season, and it remains to be seen if this latest issue could delay his recovery plan.
  • Injuries and a positive COVID-19 test prevented Luis Urias from getting any preseason time at shortstop last year, so the Brewers will give the youngster plenty of looks at the position during Spring Training.  The larger question, as The Athletic’s Will Sammon examines, is whether or not this will result in Urias becoming the Brew Crew’s regular shortstop once the season actually begins.  Milwaukee has built a lot of flexibility into the left side of its infield, as Urias, Orlando Arcia, and Daniel Robertson can all play either shortstop or third base, while Travis Shaw is also an option at the hot corner.  Shaw can play first base as well, and Arcia also said that he is preparing to work out as a center fielder.  Arcia made a single appearance in center field (the first of professional career) last season, playing four innings at the position on August 12 in a 12-2 loss to the Twins.

Miles Mikolas To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery

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Cardinals right-hander Miles Mikolas will undergo surgery to repair his right flexor tendon and miss the remainder of the 2020 season, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak announced to reporters Tuesday (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Mark Saxon). He’s been placed on the injured list, and right-hander Jake Woodford has been recalled from the club’s alternate training site in a corresponding move. St. Louis also announced that Giovanny Gallegos has been activated from the injured list. Right-hander Daniel Ponce de Leon will start against the Twins tomorrow in place of Mikolas.

The loss of Mikolas is a notable blow to the St. Louis rotation. Since returning from a highly successful stint in Japan in 2018, the now-31-year-old Mikolas has given the Cards 384 2/3 innings of 3.44 ERA ball with averages of 6.8 strikeouts, 1.4 walks and 1.01 home runs per nine innings pitched. The right-hander finished sixth in 2018 National League Cy Young voting and has made 32 starts in each of his two seasons with the Cards.

That on its own would’ve been enough to make the two-year, $15.5MM deal that Mikolas signed with the Cardinals in the 2017-18 offseason a huge success. But the Cardinals clearly viewed the righty as a key long-term asset, as they locked him up on a four-year, $68MM extension prior to the 2019 season. The current season is the first year of that new pact, and a major arm surgery for Mikolas surely isn’t how either player or team hoped to kick things off. The hope is that he’ll be good to go for the 2021 season, Mozeliak added, though a more precise timeline will becomes clearer after the surgery.

Even without Mikolas, the Cardinals still have a talented group of starters. Young Jack Flaherty is emerging as one of the National League’s best arms. He’s joined by veterans Carlos Martinez and Adam Wainwright as well as fellow youngster Dakota Hudson in making up the Cardinals’ top four starters. Option for the fifth spot include Woodford, left-hander Genesis Cabrera and righty Alex Reyes, among others, although Reyes’ longstanding injury issues might make him better suited for a relief role.

The Cards opened the year with southpaw Kwang Hyun Kim in the bullpen, but the longtime KBO starter could move to the rotation, with the aforementioned Gallegos taking over ninth-inning work. Left-hander Ricardo Sanchez and right-hander Alvaro Seijas are both on the 40-man roster and in the team’s 60-man player pool as well.

Cardinals Health Notes: Mikolas, Goldschmidt

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Cardinals right-hander Miles Mikolas received a platelet-rich plasma injection back in February, but he’s continued to make progress over the past few months. He’s apparently nearing full recovery, as he tells reporters, including Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, that he anticipates being in the club’s season-opening rotation.

Mikolas will throw approximately 40 pitches to live hitters in an intrasquad game early next week, Hummel adds. That seemingly represents the final step in his build-up toward readiness for the regular season.

Also ready for the season opener is Paul Goldschmidt. Goldy was nagged a bit by a sore right elbow in the first iteration of Spring Training, Hummel notes. Nearly four months later, Goldschmidt tells Hummel his elbow is back to 100 percent. The 32-year-old’s first season in St. Louis was a bit of a down year relative to Goldschmidt’s lofty standards. A fully healthy season from the star first baseman would go a long way towards the Cards’ hopes of repeating as NL Central champions.

2020 will mark the first year of a five-year, $130MM contract extension Goldschmidt signed at the outset of the 2019 season. Whereas Goldy might not have opened this season at full health had it begun in March as planned, it seems he has generally benefited from the three-month stoppage, allowing his elbow to get back to where it should be.

Cardinals Notes: Mikolas, Freese, Molina

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Cardinals right-hander Miles Mikolas tossed a bullpen session last Friday and expects to be ready to go whenever play resumes, per The Athletic’s Mark Saxon (subscription required). Mikolas feels he’ll have time to get in another “eight to ten” bullpen sessions between now and the reported mid-June target for a reboot of Spring Training, at which point he’d be able to kick things off with a two- or three-inning appearance. A flexor strain slowed the right-hander back in February and likely would’ve cost him a notable portion of the season under normal circumstances, but like many others, he’s been able to use the extended time off to heal up. Mikolas also chats with Saxon about the likely addition of the designated hitter in the NL and gives his reasons for welcoming that change.

More out of St. Louis…

  • St. Louis native and postseason hero David Freese plans to be with the Cardinals’ fantasy camp next year, and the recently retired corner infielder tells Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he’s open to coaching in the future but not fully committed to the idea. “I always think about it, just because baseball is a part of me,” says Freese, who goes on to marvel at the manner in which the workload of Major League coaches has expanded over the past several years. A managerial role, even at the minor league level, has a bit more appeal to Freese than a coaching job, but the 37-year-old is currently focused on his family, with a second child due next month. Cards fans will want to check out the interview to read Freese’s personal recollection of a legendary postseason showing in 2011, when he rallied back from an icy NLDS showing to hit a combined .444/.528/.889 with four homers, six doubles and an unforgettable triple in just 53 plate appearances between the NLCS and World Series. He was named MVP of both series.
  • ESPN’s Marly Rivera recently spoke with Yadier Molina about his willingness to test free agency and sign elsewhere if a reunion with the Cardinals doesn’t work out. Those comments were understandably the focus of her initial piece from their talk, although a lengthier transcript of the interview was published last week — one in which Molina discusses his Hall of Fame aspirations, his journey from a “defensive catcher” to a well-rounded All-Star performer, his pursuit of the 2,000 hit milestone and the change in the way that catchers have been valued since his MLB debut. There’s no additional context or change in his thoughts on potentially playing elsewhere; those comments were published in their entirety from the get-go, and it’s clear that Molina hopes to remain in St. Louis but wants another two years whether as a Cardinal or not. Still, as with the Freese interview, Cards fans will surely enjoy the personal stories and recollections from a revered player looking back on his career and discussing his future in the game.

Cardinals’ Injured Pitchers Making Progress

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Before the coronavirus pandemic struck, the Cardinals were set to begin the regular season without some notable pitchers dealing with injuries. But if a season gets underway around midsummer, the Cardinals’ pitching staff could be at or near full strength, as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch explains.

Right-hander Miles Mikolas, who underwent a platelet-rich plasma injection in his ailing forearm in February, is making progress in his recovery. The Cardinals expect him to be ready for the start of the season, according to Goold. That’s a relief for both the short and long term, as forearm issues are often a precursor to Tommy John surgery. That outcome would have been disastrous for the Cardinals, who signed Mikolas to. a four-year, $68MM extension before last season and have seen him turn in back-to-back fine campaigns after he returned to the majors following a dominant stint in Japan.

Turning to the Cardinals’ bullpen, closer Jordan Hicks and lefties Andrew Miller and Brett Cecil are also coming along. The fireballing Hicks had TJS last June, and under normal circumstances, he’d have missed a sizable chunk of this season. However, he’s now throwing at “moderate intensity,” president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told Goold, and seems to be on track for a July return. That could mean the Cardinals will get Hicks for some or all of a potential season.

Miller, who battled a mysterious arm problem before spring training stopped, now looks as if he’ll be good to go from the outset. Cecil’s status isn’t as clear. He suffered a major hamstring injury in mid-March, and while he should resume throwing within the next two weeks, it’s unknown if he’ll be shelved at the beginning of a possible season.

If they’re healthy, the Cardinals will need more from Miller and Cecil, recent free-agent signings who haven’t panned out to this point. The formerly dominant Miller struggled to a 4.45 ERA/5.19 FIP over 54 2/3 innings last season – the first of a two-year, $25MM contract. And Cecil, the recipient of a four-year, $30.5MM pact prior to the 2017 campaign, endured an abysmal 2018 and then didn’t pitch at all last season after he had surgery on carpal tunnel syndrome in his left hand. Of course, with Miller and Cecil eligible to return to free agency next winter, it’s possible neither will pitch for the Cardinals again if a season doesn’t take place.

NL Notes: Crawford, Kim, Mikolas, Cecil, Johnson

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Brandon Crawford gave the San Francisco Chronicle’s John Shea a rundown of his daily routine, as the Giants shortstop is busy balancing his time with his wife and four young children alongside workouts and engaging in whatever baseball activities he can manage from his house.  On this particular day, for example, Crawford and the Giants’ team yoga instructor met via video conferencing for a session “based on baseball mobility and movements that we need,” Crawford said.

Some more from the National League…

  • While Crawford is one of many players staying at home with his family during the shutdown, newly-signed Cardinals left-hander Kwang-hyun Kim is in St. Louis while his family is in South Korea.  Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told reporters (including MLB.com’s Anne Rogers) that Kim could potentially return to Korea while Major League Baseball is on hiatus.  “I can only imagine the mental challenge [Kim is] under with his wife and children back in South Korea, trying to adapt to a new country, a new team, and then have all this thrust upon him,” Mozeliak said.  “So we’re trying to navigate that as best we can, but…clearly this has not been easy for him, and I think all of us could understand why.”
  • From that same teleconference earlier this week, Mozeliak also provided updates on some injured Cardinals players.  Miles Mikolas continues to make progress after suffering a flexor tendon strain in February and receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection, as Mikolas will soon throw a bullpen session and is currently throwing from 120 feet.  Brett Cecil recently took time off from his hamstring injury rehab for personal reasons, but Mozeliak said Cecil will resume the process next week.  Cecil suffered what manager Mike Shildt described as a “fairly significant” right hamstring strain in mid-March, and while no specific timeline was put in place, it was thought that Cecil was facing “multiple weeks of treatment.”
  • After pitching in Japan in 2019, Pierce Johnson signed a two-year, $5MM deal with the Padres this offseason to mark his return to North American baseball.  As Johnson told Fangraphs’ David Laurila, “a few other teams kicked the tires” on the right-hander’s availability, and he also came “really close to taking” an offer to remain with the Hanshin Tigers.  Ultimately, Johnson chose the Padres and MLB in order to bring his family back closer to home.  Johnson posted only a 5.44 ERA over his 44 2/3 career Major League innings with the Cubs and Giants in 2017-18, though his season in Nippon Professional Baseball greatly elevated his stock, as the righty posted a 1.38 ERA, 14.0 K/9, and 7.00 K/BB rate over 58 2/3 relief innings for the Tigers.

Miles Mikolas Resumes Throwing

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Cardinals righty Miles Mikolas has resumed throwing after undergoing a platelet-rich plasma injection for a strained flexor tendon in his right arm last month, writes Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Mikolas is currently limited to playing catch from 90 feet, but he’s upping the distance regularly and tells Hummel that he now expects to be able to contribute from day one of the regular season — whenever that is.

The forearm injury had previously wiped out any possibility of Mikolas being part of the active roster on the previously scheduled March 26 season opener, but that’s no longer the case. The right-hander had been eyeing a late April or early May return to the roster, and with Opening Day pushed back at least eight weeks, his rehab timeline should be complete before the season gets underway.

Penciling Mikolas into the starting rotation would force the Cardinals into a tough decision on the rest of the rotation. Jack Flaherty is a lock, of course, and former ace Carlos Martinez impressed early in spring as he built back up as a starter. Veteran Adam Wainwright is back on another one-year deal as well, and the Cards also have young righty Dakota Hudson and offseason pickup Kwang-Hyun Kim in the fold as well — the latter of whom turned in eye-opening results in the abbreviated first iteration of Spring Training. There’s ample depth even beyond that group, too. Right-handers Daniel Ponce de Leon and Jake Woodford are both on the 40-man roster, as are lefties Austin Gomber and Genesis Cabrera.

The Cards will surely file all that away in the “good problem to have” drawer if it pans out, but first and foremost will be monitoring Mikolas’ rehab efforts. He’s still only playing catch from flat ground, so he’ll need to progress to throwing off a mound, throwing his breaking pitches and eventually building up to a starter’s workload. Ideally, he’ll be in the mix to start one of the Cardinals’ first games of the season, but as already illustrated, the organization has plenty of depth in the event of a setback.

Mikolas is entering the first season of a four-year, $68MM extension that he inked last spring. He’s owed a $15.75MM salary in each season of the deal, plus the prorated portion of a $5MM signing bonus to be paid each January over the life of the deal.

NL Central Notes: Pirates, Reynolds, Newman, Cardinals, Goldschmidt, Flaherty

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The Pirates are more likely than not to land outside the playoff picture in 2020, but they’ve not given up the notion of wreaking some havoc on the NL Central this year. To do so, however, Bryan Reynolds and Kevin Newman will need to avoid the dreaded sophomore slump, writes Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. True enough, Reynolds and Newman came out the gate strong in 2019, posting 3.2 fWAR and 2.4 fWAR, respectively. And yet, teaming their rookie duo with Josh Bell’s breakout bat still only amounted to the 20th-ranked offense by runs scored (758 runs), 19th by wRC+ (92). Beyond these three, the other two Pirates rounding out their top-5 by wRC+ in 2019 now play for different teams (Starling Marte, Corey Dickerson), and the sixth is a pitcher (Steven Brault). Immediately upon the close of 2019, the Pirates had planned to give Brault a go as a two-way player, but with new leadership up and down the organization, it’s unclear what his role will be. Regardless, Jarrod Dyson is the biggest addition made the to position player group this winter. Reynolds and Newman are core pieces of this lineup, and the good news is this: if they do slump in their sophomore seasons, they should have enough leash to find their way back. Let’s jump from the bottom of the NL Central to the top and check in with the reigning divisional champs…

  • As Spring Training games kick off (weather permitting), hitters around the league are putting their offseason swing adjustments to the test. Paul Goldschmidt, Harrison Bader, and Matt Carpenter of the Cardinals will all be deploying tweaked swings to some degree as they seek the kind of offensive consistency that eluded the trio last year, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Goldy was the most successful of the three, but his fortunes at the plate sunk and fell seemingly on a monthly basis, and he never quite settled into the type of season to which he is accustomed. A .260 BA was his lowest mark since 2012 by almost thirty points, and while his power remained decidedly above average, it did drop from the astronomical heights of the couple seasons prior. Still, even in a down year, Goldy produced 16% more offense than average. Any substantive regression to his career norms should be enough to raise Goldy’s stock back to the level of franchise cornerstone where the Cardinals expected him to be when they acquired him for three players and a pick last winter.
  • Unsurprisingly, Cardinals manager Mike Shildt wasted no time in naming Jack Flaherty their opening day starter, tweets Goold. Flaherty drove the Cardinals second half push to 91 wins and their first divisional crown since 2015. Who follows Flaherty in the rotation is a more compelling question for those in Cardinals camp this spring. There are no shortage of options, from rotation holdovers like Dakota Hudson and Miles Mikolas, to former ace Carlos Martinez, to newcomer Kwang-Hyun Kim. Adam Wainwright will be somewhere in the rotation after a rejuvenating 14-10 season in which he posted a 4.19 ERA/4.36 FIP across 31 starts. The bridge from Flaherty to Wainwright (to Chris Carpenter to Matt Morris) is a tangible reminder of the Cardinals’ institutional success. 2007, Wainright’s first season as a starter, remains the only losing season the Cards have suffered this century (they went 78-84 and finished in third place).
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