Cardinals injury update: Jordan Walker, Ivan Herrera progressing well

The St. Louis Cardinals are in desperate need for some pop from the right side of the plate of late. Ever since Jordan Walker and Ivan Herrera went down with injuries over the last few weeks, the club has continued its struggles against southpaws.

Catcher and designated hitter Ivan Herrera went down with a left hamstring strain on June 20th. Herrera stated that it was a Grade 2 strain and that he would be out for two-to-six weeks. This was a serious blow to the lineup, as he was the Cardinals' best hitter prior to his injury with a .320/.392/.533 slash line and eight home runs with 36 runs batted in through only 42 games this year.

Outfielder Jordan Walker, someone who the organization wanted to reach 600 at bats this year, went on the 10-day IL on June 25th due to appendicitis. He did not undergo a procedure, and he is eligible to be removed from the IL on July 4th. Walker played his first rehab game on July 3rd with the Springfield Cardinals.

Jordan Walker and Ivan Herrera are progressing well in their rehabs.

According to team president of baseball operations John Mozeliak, both Walker and Herrera are progressing well. "I hope it's not long," said Mozeliak of Jordan Walker. "My hope is it's just him getting his timing back."

Walker (appendicitis) went 0-4 with three groundouts and a strikeout Thursday night with Springfield, and he'll play with Springfield for a bit longer.

Mozeliak also said that Ivan Herrera (hamstring) is ramping up well and could begin a rehab assignment just before the All-Star Break. This would position Herrera to return soon after Major League Baseball's four-day hiatus from July 14th through the 17th.

Herrera returning on July 18th against the Arizona Diamondbacks would be a huge boost for the team's offense. This would also place him at the four-week mark for his recovery, right in the middle of the original window of two-to-six weeks.

Herrera posted a video on Twitter/X recently that showed him running and doing some exercises to test out his hamstring at Busch Stadium on June 26th, just a week after he initially went down with the injury. Herrera has always been a hard worker, and his dedication to his body was also shown during the offseason.

Walker spoke with media members before his first rehab game on Thursday to discuss his injury. "I didn't have to have surgery. Luckily the antibiotics worked, and the swelling went down, so I started feeling a lot better and I was really lucky," Walker said. "(The doctors) said that once (the appendicitis) went away, it should be gone for good, but you never know for sure...As of right now, I feel really good...I'm ready to get going."

This was Walker's second stint on the IL in a pivotal season, and he's taken a relatively positive approach to the situation. "I chalk it up as bad luck, but you know, I keep going and I'm starting to feel good now, so I just have to look to the future and look forward."

Walker will take as long as he needs to recover and get right in Springfield, but he could meet the Cardinals back in St. Louis against the Washington Nationals on Tuesday, July 8th.