Cardinals' Nathan Church Recovery Taking Encouraging Turn

The Cardinals Outfielder Is Working His Way Back

That led to drama between the two clubs that bled into Wednesday ahead of the series finale between the two National League Central rivals.

On the bright side, the Cardinals did get some positive news on Wednesday. Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reported that Nathan Church's checkup with a specialist "went well" on Tuesday and he has the green light to start a plyometric and strengthening program.

"In non-crotch-related news, Nathan Church's checkup with a specialist went well yesterday and he got the green light to start a plyometric and strengthening program. Still a bit away from any kind of rehab/timeline," Jones wrote.

Church was placed on the 10-Day Injured List with a left shoulder strain. It was unfortunate because he has been very good overall as a rookie so far. He has played in 45 games and is slashing.247/.282/.390 with a .672 OPS, five homers, 18 RBIs, four stolen bases, six doubles and 17 runs scored. With Church out over the last few days, it has hurt the club's offense a bit. While there is no timeline yet for the club, this is a clear sign that he is moving in the right direction.

Fellow outfielder Lars Nootbaar also has been on the Injured List throughout the season but is making progress in his recovery. Nootbaar has played in seven games so far down in the minors and is slashing .316/.381/.684 with a 1.065 OPS, two homers and four RBIs. The Cardinals need both of these guys back. Nootbaar is closer than Church at this point and could be just a few days from coming back to town. Church has a way to go, but the news about his checkup was very positive on Wednesday.

Hopefully, there aren't any setbacks and the 25-year-old is able to get back into the mix in the near future.