St. Louis Cardinals: Alex Reyes is running out of time

After St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Alex Reyes sustained another injury, it’s fair to wonder how many more setbacks he can encounter before being labeled a bust.

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Alex Reyes is hurt again, and this time it was by his own hand.

The former top prospect broke his pinkie finger after punching a dugout wall in frustration after a subpar outing at AAA Memphis, in which he gave up three runs on three hits in 2 2/3 innings

Reyes has been unable to stay on the field throughout his career, be it through injuries or poor decisions. In November of 2015, Reyes was suspended for 50 games after a positive test for marijuana. In February 2017, Reyes was diagnosed with a torn UCL. He received Tommy John surgery and was out for the season. After one appearance in 2018, Reyes tore his right lat muscle and underwent surgery again, ending his season.

Some injuries are unavoidable. I am not blaming Reyes for his injuries on the field, but his behaviors off the diamond need to be adjusted if he is going to live up to the hype he once garnered.

Reyes is 24 years old, and he graduated from “rookie” status in his first appearance this year. He has thrown 53 innings in his major league career, showing flashes of greatness in 2016 when he pitched 46 innings and struck out 52 en route to a 1.57 ERA. After washout years in 2017 and 2018, Reyes hasn’t looked the same. He gave up five runs and six walks in just three innings this year with the Cardinals before his demotion.

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There is still a great deal of mystery about where he could go from here, but the outlook is trending in the wrong direction. Many former top prospects at his age are dominating the major leagues, and Reyes could ill afford to extend his list of injuries with one that was entirely his doing.

According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals refused to trade Reyes to the Miami Marlins in the Marcell Ozuna acquisition, instead, they gave up Sandy Alcantara, Zac Gallen and Magneuris Sierra. Alcantara was the most highly touted out of those, but Gallen has dominated at Triple-A this year, sporting an ERA of 0.81 and having a 38/5 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 33.1 innings.

A trade of Reyes might have netted the Cardinals Christian Yelich if they wanted to go that direction, and while Ozuna has picked things up of late, Yelich has become a superstar. The Cardinals would be a completely different team if they had him manning the outfield.

Reyes can still become a star, but he’s standing in his own way. He has all the talent in the world, but maturity is a question mark. The last Cardinals player with this profile was Oscar Taveras, and nobody wants a repeat of how that turned out.

A player can only get by on potential for so long; eventually, he’ll need to start showing results. Reyes needs to get his head on straight and get on the field so he can start to live up to that promise. It’s not too late, but the clock is ticking.