The St. Louis Cardinals disabled their big set-up man Jordan Walden over the past weekend because of soreness in his right shoulder. Walden received an MRI Sunday that revealed a strained muscle in that same shoulder. Walden sought a second opinion, and those results confirmed the initial report.
With that confirmation comes the reality that Walden will miss between 6 and 10 weeks of action according to Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak as reported by Dan O'Neill of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The timeframe puts Walden's return anywhere between mid-June to the All-Star break in mid-July.
The good news is that Molzeliak says the injury will not require surgery as originally thought. Walden will rest and rehabilitate, allowing him to begin throwing at some point during his absence from the active roster. That point, though, is still undetermined.
Jordan -- he of the unusual delivery during which he leaps completely off the ground -- recorded his first save as a Cardinal just two weeks ago.
O'Neill indicates that the unusual delivery may have led to the injury -- at least in the minds of Cardinals officials such as Mozeliak:
“We knew that going in but we were hoping to get some use out of him,” O'Neill quoted the general manager saying.
Walden has a record of 0-1 but a fantastic 0.87 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, and 12 strikeouts in 10 1/3 innings spread over 12 relief appearances so far in his first season with the Cardinals. For his career, he is 12-14 with a 3.00 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, and 266 strikeouts in 222 innings with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, and now Cardinals since 2010. He was on track to have his best season so far in 2015.
With Adam Wainwright out for the season, the Cardinals still lead the Major Leagues in ERA at 2.26 and have the best record at 20-6 entering play on May 6.