Cardinals Lose 29-Year-Old Lefty With Elbow Ligament 'Damage'

St. Louis Cardinals left-handed hurler Packy Naughton cannot catch a break.

The veteran reliever hasn't pitched in a big league game since 2023 due to two different elbow injuries. He finally was able to return to the mound and look like his old self throughout Spring Training, but he didn't make the club out of camp. He made seven appearances in Spring Training and logged a 1.29 ERA in seven innings pitched. He kicked off the season down in Triple-A Memphis but he injured his elbow once again earlier in the week.

On Saturday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Naughton has ligament damage, but the club hasn't determined a path forward yet for treatment. Goold reported that Naughton will see a specialist to determine the next steps.

"Packy Naughton has ligament damage in his elbow, per the Cardinals," Goold wrote. "He will see a specialist to determine potential treatments. Just brutal news given all he’s done to make a comeback and then to crash into this setback."

The Cardinals got some bad news

Feb 17, 2026; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Packy Naughton (71). Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Naughton has pitched in 37 games throughout his big league career to this point and it doesn't sound like that number is going to change in the near future. Throughout a big league season, you're going to hear about a lot of injuries in the big leagues as well as down in the minors for an organization. It's an unfortunate part about professional sports. Naughton just hasn't been able to catch a break over the last few years. When healthy, he's been able to have some success in the majors and became a fan favorite among Cardinals fans in the process.

As of writing, the Cardinals haven't announced an exact timeline for Naughton's return. We won't find out until he's able to see the specialist and chart a path forward. John Denton of Roundtable Sports shared on X that the current expectation is that the Cardinals will have a diagnosis for Naughton in the next 24 to 48 hours.

St. Louis' bullpen has been a weakness for the club so far in 2026. St. Louis entered play on Saturday ranked 24th in the league in bullpen ERA at 5.02. Naughton is someone who could've helped the club out, but it sounds like it's going to be a while before that can be the case. As more information is provided, it will be shared here. We should hear more over the next few days. Hopefully, he has avoided the worst-case scenario.