Cardinals' Jordan Walker Battled Through Pain to Finish September

The 2026 Major League Baseball season is over for the St. Louis Cardinals, and it surely was a special one for outfielder Jordan Walker.

The 24-year-old entered the season with all sorts of questions lingering over him. Not many were positive. He slashed .215/.278/.306 in 2025 and looked like he was trending toward being a bust. But he went into the lab last offseason and transformed his career. In 2026, he slashed .269/.327/.466 with 29 home runs, 102 RBIs, 22 stolen bases, 33 doubles and 97 runs scored in 158 games played. Walker was simply excellent. He earned his first All-Star nod and also won the Home Run Derby. It was a storybook season, but there were some question marks down the stretch. He slashed .172/.232/.287 in his final 24 games with just two home runs.

On Monday, while speaking to the media, Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom confirmed that he wasn't at full strength and was dealing with hip pain, as shared by Derrick Goold and Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

"Jordan Walker was playing through hip pain, discomfort, and some limitations as a result in the closing weeks of the season, Bloom confirmed," Goold and Guerrero wrote. "Some of that was from the workload the right fielder had and also the adjustments he made in spring training and the more movements he made in the batter’s box. He has been prescribed rest."

Jordan Walker Is Going To Be Alright

Sep 25, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Jordan Walker (18) celebrates hitting a home run against the Milwaukee Brewers in the seventh inning at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

This puts a whole new context on Walker's slow second half of the season — and also some hope for the 2027 season and beyond.

In the first half of the season, Walker was the guy every Cardinals fan wanted to talk about. His breakout was one of the most shocking stories in baseball. Let's not forget, there was a section of the Cardinals' fanbase that was openly hoping the club would send Walker down to the minors after a sluggish Spring Training offensively. Then, the conversation shifted right when he started launching homers left and right to begin the season.

As Walker broke out, one question that was out there was how long it could last for. Was Walker's early-season breakout a fluke? Or is this the player the Cardinals have now? As the season progressed, he continued to prove that he has taken a massive leap forward and it wasn't a fluke, by any means. Then, of course, as he struggled down the stretch, it led to questions in the fanbase again.

His hip being banged up absolutely explains why there was such a clear difference between his play in the first half, and his play down the stretch.

The fact that he was prescribed rest is also positive because at this point, there's no need for surgery, or something like that. At the end of the day, it's a long season. He missed just four games all year. That's going to have an impact and it surely did. It was a great season for Walker and it's going to be remembered fondly. It also wasn't a fluke. Now, he has a few months to get his hip right and get ready to follow up on his breakout.

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