When Jack Flaherty went down in late June with what was described as a “dead arm” the prognosis from the St. Louis Cardinals was that he was going to be out until late August at the earliest.
With Steven Matz out for the season, St. Louis was forced to grab two starters at the trade deadline in Jordan Montgomery and Jose Quintana.
The rotation has finally become more balanced.
Better yet, Flaherty has made great progress since going down.
Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch provided an update on Flaherty via Twitter last night.
Flaherty Making Progress
Flaherty was set to begin his rehab assignment last night with the Memphis Redbirds.
That game was postponed due to rain, so Flaherty will start game one of a doubleheader today.
This is encouraging news for the Cardinals, who have been without Flaherty for the vast majority of the 2022 season.
In fact, Flaherty hasn’t had a full season since 2019, when he went on a tear in the second half and garnered some Cy Young votes.
A healthy Flaherty would be a huge boost for the Cardinals as they look to try and separate themselves from the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central.
In each of his three starts this season, Flaherty has not made it past three innings.
If he can return and pitch the way he was pitching before suffering an oblique injury last season, then the Cardinals rotation will reclaim its place as one of baseball’s most elite rotations.
The Cardinals seem pleased so far with his progress, which is a good sign for them as the stretch run of the 2022 season progresses.
If all goes according to plan, Flaherty should slot right back into the Cards rotation.
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