Injury updates for 5 St. Louis Cardinals players who have been on the mend

Injuries unraveled the St. Louis Cardinals' plans this offseason. The outfield was supposed to consist of Lars Nootbaar in left field, Tommy Edman roaming center, and Jordan Walker in right field; Dylan Carlson would be the 4th outfielder. Instead, the Opening Day roster featured Brendan Donovan in left, rookie Victor Scott II in center, and Jordan Walker in right with Michael Siani on the bench.

The relief corps also experienced some setbacks when Keynan Middleton, a recent free agent acquisition, went down during spring training. The Cardinals were already coming out of the gate shorthanded.

One month into the season and we have some updates on these injured players. At the moment, Dylan Carlson, Tommy Edman, Keynan Middleton, Drew Rom, and Matt Carpenter are all on the team's Injured List.

Here's a breakdown of when to expect these players back in St. Louis and the ramifications of their reactivation.

LHP Drew Rom

Status: 15-day Injured List

Drew Rom injured his bicep late in spring training, and he was subsequently placed on the 15-day IL on March 26th. The left-handed pitcher was assumed to miss at least the first few weeks of the season, but his absence has been much greater than that.

Rom, 24, was acquired in a trade last deadline when the Cardinals sent Jack Flaherty to the Baltimore Orioles. He made a few appearances with the big league team down the stretch, but his role this year was a bit murkier. He was likely to start in the rotation in Memphis, but a long relief role in St. Louis was possible had he not gone down with an injury.

As of April 23rd, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reported that Rom had taken a step back in his recovery. He took part in plyometric exercises a couple of weeks ago, but his arm didn't feel right after the exercises. Rom's inability to throw right now puts him back quite a while. He's been out for a month at this point.

If Drew Rom doesn't get on a mound soon, a transition to the 60-day IL is likely. He could be out past May if that's the case. The latest word, as of April 23rd, on Rom indicated that he was going to see Dr. Keith Meister in Texas. Meister is an elbow doctor known for the same procedure that players like Brendan Donovan and Bryce Harper received.