Cardinals injury update: Brendan Donovan, Jordan Walker, Tink Hence

A couple of key regulars for the St. Louis Cardinals and a prospect are currently experiencing some injury setbacks. Where are Brendan Donovan, Jordan Walker, and Tink Hence in their recoveries?

Brendan Donovan received an MRI on his ailing toe.

During the top of the ninth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night, utility man Brendan Donovan was lifted from the game. This gave quite a worry throughout the St. Louis faithful. Initial reports suggested that Donovan had toe discomfort, and his removal was to prevent further injury.

The news on Wednesday morning was a bit more worrisome. According to Katie Woo of The Athletic, Donovan underwent an MRI on his left toe. Results on the injury haven't been released yet, and more information should be available after the club's series finale against the Blue Jays.

Donovan has been the Cardinals' best player in all facets of the game. His .310/.379/.440 slash line and 133 wRC+ are all the highest figures among qualified hitters on the team, and his defensive versatility has given manager Oliver Marmol ample flexibility when filling out a lineup card each day.

Donovan has been playing second base exclusively since May 10th. While he would normally be moving around the field, especially with Jordan Walker out to open up at-bats for Nolan Gorman, his presence solely at second base for the last month could be explained by discomfort he's been feeling in his foot for a while now.

If Brendan Donovan goes on the injured list for a time, either Thomas Saggese or Jose Fermin could be called up. Jose Fermin was not in Memphis's starting lineup on June 11th, so he appears to be the more likely candidate of the two.

Jordan Walker set to start a rehab assignment.

Jordan Walker went on the injured list on May 29th due to left wrist inflammation. The timing was unfortunate, as Walker had started heating up. In the 13 games prior to his injury, Walker was slashing .333/.351/.528 with four extra base hits, including one home run, one triple, and two doubles. While his strikeouts were a bit high, the power was certainly arriving for the former top prospect.

Walker is set to start a rehab assignment on Thursday. It's not certain where Walker will make his rehab starts, but Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat posited that Walker will travel with Triple-A Memphis to Gwinnett. Gwinnett is a bit of a homecoming for Walker, who is from Stone Mountain, Georgia.

Walker will likely need one series to get his groove back. He's expected to rejoin the Cardinals next week when they head to Chicago to take on the White Sox.

Tink Hence's is off to a strong start in his rehab assignment.

Tink Hence, one of the Cardinals' top pitching prospects, started the season on the 60-day injured list due to a strain in his right rib cage. Hence has since recovered, and he's been throwing rehab starts for the Low-A Palm Beach Cardinals. So far, Hence has been exceptional in his rehab starts.

He's thrown seven scoreless frames, and he's struck out nine batters without allowing an earned run. In his most recent start on June 7th, Hence went 2.2 innings, facing 10 batters and striking out six of them.

The Cardinals will look to keep Hence on an innings limit as he works his way back up. The organization has always been hesitant to let him go for multiple innings, and they'll be even more cautious as he returns from another long-term injury.

Hence's injuries have begun piling up in the last few years, and they were enough to have him removed from one top-100 prospect list. His talent is tantalizing; all he needs to do is stay healthy now.