Cardinals News: St. Louis Loses Veteran Slugger To Shoulder Injury

According to The Athletic's Katie Woo, the St. Louis Cardinals are placing veteran infielder Nolan Arenado on the injured list with a nagging shoulder injury that's bothered him for weeks.

"The St. Louis Cardinals will place third baseman Nolan Arenado on the 10-day injured list with a right shoulder injury before Friday’s game against the San Diego Padres, team sources told The Athletic," Woo wrote. "Arenado’s shoulder issues date to early July. He missed a handful of games trying to avoid the IL and hoped resting over the All-Star break would alleviate the discomfort."

Arenado has avoided injuries for most of his career, but this trip to the injured list seems to have been a long time coming. The veteran has battled this injury for a few weeks and it's clearly impacted his play.

In the month of July, Arenado slashed .175/.230/.211 with a horrendous .440 OPS. He's been unplayable at the plate this month. The veteran hasn't homered since the June 21 matchup with the rival Cincinnati Reds. He tallied just two extra base hits in July.

If the Cardinals were in a postseason hunt, they might want to keep the veteran on the active roster in order to help him work through the pain and the issues. But since the Cardinals sold at the deadline and seemingly waved the white flag on the season, they are free to place Arenado on the injured list as winning games is no longer the top priority.

It's unclear how long he's going to be out for. St. Louis activated infielder Nolan Gorman as the corresponding move, and he's expected to see the bulk of the time at the hot corner.