Cardinals Star Pitcher Could Return To Mound Soon According To Insider

It sounds like the Cardinals could have one of their top pitchers back very soon

Mar 4, 2024; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray (54) / Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

The St. Louis Cardinals could have one of their top players back on the field very soon.

St. Louis had a disastrous 2023 season and the biggest reason why certainly was inconsistency in the starting rotation. The Cardinals seemingly never were fully healthy and that helped derail the season.

The rotation struggled last season so the club made a big effort once free agency opened to improve. St. Louis did so by signing Sonny Gray, Lance Lynn, and Kyle Gibson early on to boost the rotation.

Gray certainly is the biggest addition of the bunch and finished in second place last season in the American League Cy Young Award voting. The three-time All-Star will help St. Louis out in a major way but has been dealing with a hamstring injury which forced him to miss Opening Day.

Although it's disappointing that he currently is dealing with an injury, he could be back on the mound for the Cardinals as soon as April 9, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Derrick Goold.

"The Cardinals’ splashy addition this past offseason, Gray injured his right hamstring during his second start of spring training," Goold said. "He was diagnosed with a 'mild' tear that put him two weeks behind his fellow starters. Originally set to face hitters Thursday, Gray threw a bullpen session instead on Wednesday in Florida and shifted that live BP a day to get on schedule for a possible return.

"If he recovers well from Friday’s work, which could be around four simulated innings, his next outing will be on a rehab assignment with a minor league affiliate. A start in the middle of next week will put him on the turn to be available the first day he’s eligible to come off the (Injured List). The Cardinals backdated his IL stint, so that date is April 9."

St. Louis hasn't gotten off to the start it hoped for to begin the 2024 season, but the return of Gray hopefully will give the team a nice boost.

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