It's no debate that the St. Louis Cardinals' bullpen is struggling this season. The situation was amplified by the absence of one of their key pieces for the past two weeks.
All-Star reliever Ryan Helsley was placed on the injury reserve retroactive to June 10th for an undiagnosed right forearm injury and we finally have a hint at when he may return.
"Ryan Helsley is set to begin a throwing program by the end of the week. He’ll require a significant ramp-up period, no timetable for return." The Athletic's Katie Woo tweeted Wednesday.
This right forearm injury is a recurring injury for Helsley as back in 2018 he was sidelined for the exact same reason.
When this injury occurred before, the right-handed pitcher did not return to Triple-A Memphis that season, but Helsley claims that this time is different.
“I was starting back then and only took a week off from throwing,” Helsley told the St. Louis Dispatch's Daniel Guerrero. “I don’t think it was enough time and I’ve been a little over two weeks now. I’ve never really felt much pain sitting there, but it feels different this time. I feel better. So hopefully that’s a good sign and I bounce back a lot quicker.”
Despite there still not being a timetable for the closer's return, it appears that there may be hope for a return for him this season.
The Cardinals will surely have to monitor Helsley's injury with precaution but hopefully, we will be seeing No. 56 back on the mound sometime soon.
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