JUPITER, Fla. — There is news about Cardinals right-hander Alex Reyes, but not yet about right-hander Jack Flaherty, both of whom came to camp with shoulder pain.
Reyes, who led the club with 29 saves last season, was in Pensacola, Fla. on Wednesday to attend the famous Dr. Seeing James Andrews, who will not perform surgery but will administer a “therapeutic injection” later in the day, he said chief executive Oliver Marmol.
Reyes will return on Friday, at which point his spring could be further planned, but Marmol said he didn’t expect Reyes to get enough work to break camp with the team in April. 5.
As for Flaherty, the right-hander said he is awaiting the results of his MRI scan. “We hope that by the end of the day we’ll have a good idea of where he stands,” said Marmol. “As soon as (the doctors) decide, I’ll be able to say more about it.”
With Reyes out of the picture at the moment and Flaherty possibly the same, Marmol said, “It’s definitely not ideal.”
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Flaherty said: “We’re still waiting for what we’ve got. I can’t really give too much until we have a full picture of everything. So far I have nothing new to share about it.”
Both Reyes and Flaherty suffered from sore muscles during the off-season but were not allowed to interact with the club’s medical staff due to the owners’ 99-day suspension of the players.
“The lockout made any kind of communication difficult,” Flaherty said.
Two other players are not here yet, although Marmol said Giovanny Gallegos, who was in Mexico for personal reasons, should be available on Thursday. Premier catcher Yadier Molina, who is believed to be in Puerto Rico, is still absent due to personal reasons and there is no schedule.
Marmol said he had no contact with Molina. “I wanted to give him some space,” Marmol said. “We’re talking about one of the most competitive people in the world. If he’s not here, there’s a reason and I want to make sure I’m sensitive to that. When he’s ready, we’re ready.”
Wainwright starts Florida opener
Marmol said veteran right-hander Adam Wainwrght would start Friday’s opening game against Houston, while right-hander Miles Mikolas and left-hander Steven Matz would start the next two games on Sunday and Monday. Matz, formerly with the New York Mets and Toronto, will throw at batsmen for the first time this morning. .
Left-handed reliever Genesis Cabrera, who made an impressive showing against hitters on Tuesday, will also serve here on Friday, Marmol said.