Cardinals' Miles Mikolas could make season debut

Cardinals right-hander Miles Mikolas began a Triple-A rehab assignment this week, and it seems likely he’ll make his 2021 major league debut soon. Mikolas said his last rehab start should be May 16 or 17, after which he figures to return to the majors, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat tweets.

The Cardinals have gone the past year-plus without Mikolas, who missed 2020 as a result of a flexor tendon surgery and hasn’t pitched this season because of shoulder issues. Mikolas’ health woes have been rather unfortunate for the Cardinals, who haven’t gotten much bang for their buck on the four-year, $68M extension they signed him to prior to the 2019 campaign. They gave Mikolas that deal on the heels of a tremendous 2018 season in which he logged a 2.83 ERA with an 18.1 percent strikeout rate and a 3.6 percent walk rate across 200 2/3 innings.

Of course, despite his recent injury problems, the Cardinals have received plenty of value from Mikolas since they lured him from Japan on a two-year, $15.5M guarantee going into 2018. Mikolas owns a 3.46 ERA and a meager 3.9 percent walk rate across 384 2/3 frames with the Cardinals, so they’ll be glad to welcome him back.