St. Louis Cardinals will be without two All-Stars on Opening Day

The St. Louis Cardinals will be without two All-Stars on Opening Day, as Jack Flaherty and Alex Reyes are sidelined with injuries.

Before the St. Louis Cardinals even played one spring training game, they were down two of their best pitchers in Jack Flaherty and Alex Reyes. They had been waiting for test results before commenting on either player’s status moving forward.

The tests came back and … not great.

Flaherty is out for Opening Day after receiving a PRP injection for a small tear in his right shoulder, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told reporters. Flaherty will not be allowed to throw for two weeks before starting a treatment plan. Reyes, meanwhile, has been diagnosed with a frayed labrum in his right shoulder and is being shut down for two weeks.

Reyes visited Dr. James Andrews (gulp) and received a stem cell injection and will also not be allowed to throw for two weeks. He is expected to be out until late May or early June.

This is, without question, a nightmare start to camp for the Cardinals. They could ill afford to lose any pitchers, let alone two of their youngest and most talented arms, and it’s a crushing blow to their early season hopes. All is not lost, however, as they have Adam Wainwright, Steven Matz, Miles Mikolas and Dakota Hudson on the roster.

But their depth will be tested, and tested early, and it could force Mozeliak to consider outside options. That said, the available arms are dwindling fast, and if the Cardinals want to add a high-end starter – say, Frankie Montas or Sean Manaea of the Oakland A’s – the asking price is going to be high. And I mean REALLY high.

Mozeliak has shown no inclination to make such deals in the past and it’s unlikely that Flaherty’s injury will change that. But the Cardinals couldn’t have imagined a worse start to spring training and will now be starting the season behind the eight ball.