Cardinals Reportedly Receive Rough Injury News; What's Next For St. Louis?

St. Louis reportedly received some unfortunate injury news

Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports

The St. Louis Cardinals may not get one of their regular contributors back into the starting lineup in the near future. 

St. Louis entered the 2023 season with a logjam in the outfield, but injuries have completely changed the position for the club. The Cardinals have been without the services of two-time Gold Glove award winner Tyler O'Neill since suffering a lower back strain on May 5 and it may be a while before he returns to the field. 

O'Neill reportedly will undergo more tests on his ailing back as he still is dealing with discomfort, according to a conversation between Bally Sports' Jim Hayes and Cardinals President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak.

"(O'Neill is) feeling discomfort," Mozeliak said to Hayes. “We’re doing to do a little bit of a pause” on O’Neill’s rehab work, and “do a few additional tests, and then decide what those next steps look like.”

Before suffering his back injury, O'Neill was slashing .228/.283/.337 to go along with two home runs and six RBIs in 29 games played. At one point O'Neill seemed poised to man the outfield for St. Louis for the foreseeable future, but his role with the club certainly is in flux now. The two-time Gold Glove Award winner finished eighth in the National League Most Valuable Player voting in 2021 while clubbing 34 home runs, driving in 80 runs, and slashing .286/.352/.560, but injuries and inconsistent play have slowed him down since. 

O'Neill has been in trade rumors seemingly all season and that likely won't stop. His injury may lower his trade value, but it wouldn't be too surprising to see him moved ahead of the August 1 deadline. 

One move the Cardinals could make in the short-term to improve its outfield without a doubt would be calling top prospect Jordan Walker back up to the big league club. He began the season with St. Louis and impressed, but was optioned down to the minor leagues to ease the club's logjam and give him everyday opportunities to work on hitting the ball in the air. He started slow in Triple-A, but has been hot lately so a move could make sense. 

O'Neill likely won't be back on the field for a little bit and even when he does return, there's no way to know for sure if he will get traded. If the Cardinals were to call Walker back up this season, now would be the time.

More MLB: Cardinals Reportedly Will Be Buyers At Trade Deadline; Could Another Star Be On Way?