Cardinals Forced To Place Ace Back On IL After Just 3 Starts

Another disappointment for the St. Louis Cardinals in their seemingly endless quest to get back their true ace starter Jack Flaherty. He sat out the first two and a half months of the season recovering from shoulder problems, then made three abbreviated starts, and now, is heading back to the injured list with a right shoulder strain.

#stlcards are still waiting on a full evaluation of Jack Flaherty. “Hopefully it’s something we still see him this year. We’re pretty optimistic that’s the case,” Mozeliak said.

— Jeff Jones (@jmjones) June 27, 2022

How long he'll be out this time around is unknown as of yet, but when the president of baseball operations says "Hopefully it’s something we still see him this year. We’re pretty optimistic that’s the case,” it doesn't exactly inspire confidence of a quick return. 

According to St. Louis sports columnist Ben Frederickson, Flaherty may have come back too soon earlier this month.

#STLCards president of baseball ops Mozeliak hopes Flaherty will be back this season. Same issue as before, that being bursitis. Mo brought up original rehab plan. Flaherty pushed to return to STL with two scheduled rehab stints left. Team went with that wish. Now it wonders.

— Ben Frederickson (@Ben_Fred) June 27, 2022

Apparently, Flaherty pushed to return to the Cardinals with two scheduled rehab stints left; the team went with his wish, and now may regret it.

Flaherty managed to pitch just 8 innings in his three starts with the Cards, allowing 9 walks and 5 earned runs. It'll be some time before the 26-year-old takes the mound again.

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