Kwang-hyun Kim nearing return for St. Louis Cardinals

It has been a rough stretch for the St. Louis Cardinals and their rotation. On Monday, the team finally received good news on Kwang-hyun Kim.

The St. Louis Cardinals have finally received good news about their rotation.

After losing Miles Mikolas for the beginning part of the regular season, the Cardinals lost Kwang-hyun Kim to a back injury. The ailment, however, is not serious and he could resume throwing in the next day or two, manager Mike Shildt told Zachary Silver of MLB.com, who added that Shildt is hesitant to say Kim is ahead of schedule but admitted he is “certainly trending in that direction.”

Of the two, Kim’s injury seemed much less serious. But his imminent return suggests that his back injury was indeed nothing more than stiffness, as the team previously suggested, and that it should have no long-term impact on his season. For a Cardinals team that thought they might be missing 40 percent of their rotation on Opening Day, the news comes at an ideal time.

It eases any concerns that the Cardinals need to add an outside arm to fill the rotation. Even then, the remaining free agents include Rick Porcello and Homer Bailey, two veterans who are in the latter parts of their careers. Jordan Lyles is an interesting trade candidate and there will likely be others who exercise the opt-out clauses in their contracts in the coming days/weeks.

But with Kim returning soon and Mikolas likely to return soon after Opening Day, perhaps the Cardinals’ rotation isn’t in as rough of shape as previously thought. Of course, Kim needs to get back on the mound first before any conclusions are drawn. But that is a matter of 24-48 hours away, it seems, which is huge for a Cardinals team that desperately needed good news.