Cardinals place David Freese on DL, won't play in season opener

Cardinals third baseman David Freese will start the season on the disabled list, reports MLB.com. Freese had been suffering from lower back problems, but the team said there was a possibility that he would return for Opening Day next Monday. That is now no longer the case, and the team has placed him on the 15-day disabled list.

"It's just more of a practical matter in the sense that he hasn't played nine innings all spring," General manager John Mozeliak said. "He hasn't gotten a lot of at-bats over the last two weeks in an aggregate sense. Looking ahead at what's best for David is to get him some at-bats next week where he could get a lot of work in."

Freese, 29, hit .293/.372/.467 last season with 20 home runs and 79 RBIs.