St. Louis Cardinals News: Mikolas making second rehab start Tuesday

Miles Mikolas hasn’t thrown a pitch for the St. Louis Cardinals for a while but is making his second rehab start on Tuesday at Memphis.

When the St. Louis Cardinals signed Miles Mikolas to his four-year, $68M extension before the 2019 season, they didn’t expect the right-hander to miss the amount of time he has to this point.

In 2020, it was surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his throwing arm that kept him out for the entire year. This spring, things turned bad quickly as he was sidelined with shoulder discomfort after just his first bullpen session.

Mikolas started the season on the IL once again, but on Tuesday will make his second rehab start at AAA Memphis.

Mikolas’ first rehab start, he went just 2.1 innings, giving up two runs to the Rays’ AAA team. Watching that start, it looked like Mikolas was just working through his command and was jumped on early by a team that included #1 prospect Wander Franco, #41 prospect Vidal Brujan, and major league-caliber first baseman, Ji-Man Choi.

Mikolas struck out three and walked just one, even though he gave up those two runs on five hits. Throwing 57 pitches, it was a healthy first outing.

More from St Louis Cardinals News

• The St. Louis Cardinals sign catcher Willson Contreras
• Cardinals: Day 3 of Winter Meetings brings first move and catcher rumors
• Cardinals Rumors: Growing buzz that St. Louis will sign Willson Contreras
• Cardinals Rumors: Here is what Oakland is asking for Sean Murphy
• The St. Louis Cardinals’ 2024 rotation needs work

On Tuesday, Mikolas will make his next rehab start, this time against the Brewers’ AAA affiliate in Nashville. It would appear that the Cardinals are going to try and get Mikolas one more rehab start after Tuesday, putting him on track to return around the 21st during the first weekend that the Cardinals play against the Chicago Cubs.

If Mikolas isn’t on regular rest, the other option is for him to return against the Chicago White Sox, but either will work.

With the recent injury to Carlos Martinez that landed him on the 10-day IL, Johan Oviedo is going to be shouldering some of the load in the rotation. While Oviedo has looked fine, a healthy Mikolas would be great for the rotation. With Martinez, the rotation has been one of the main reasons why the Cardinals have been on their most recent hot streak.

When Mikolas and Martinez return, John Gant can return to the bullpen and the team can finally roll out the rotation they had planned from the start of spring.