JUPITER, Fla.—The next step for Cardinals sore right-hander Jack Flaherty will be revealed Saturday, and absent catcher Yadier Molina will report to camp Monday, manager Oliver Marmol said Friday morning ahead of the Cardinals’ first exhibition game of the spring . .
Flaherty wasn’t at camp to get a second opinion on the ailing shoulder that has prevented him from throwing this month. Molina was not at the camp for personal reasons.
Marmol’s first lineup as manager will have the same first five hitters as Mike Shildt’s final lineup in the wild-card playoff game in Los Angeles last October. Tommy Edman, Paul Goldschmidt, Tyler O’Neill, Nolan Arenado and Dylan Carlson will bat from places one through five. Harrison Bader is sixth, followed by Paul DeJong, Lars Nootbaar and backup catcher Andrew Knizner.
Adam Wainwright will start against a minor league-laden lineup brought here by the Houston Astros. Left-hander Matthew Liberatore will be among those following Wainwright, who is scheduled for two innings. Left-hander TJ McFarland and non-squad right-hander Aaron Brooks are also scheduled to throw.
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Outfielder Corey Dickerson, who has agreed to a one-year contract with the Cardinals, is on campus going through his investigation and protocols. Right-hander Alex Reyes, who received a stem cell injection for his sore shoulder in Pensacola, Fla. on Wednesday, will return to camp later on Friday but will be suspended from pitching for two weeks, Marmol said.
“After a few weeks we’ll reevaluate and see where he’s at and then put together a program for his throwing program,” Marmol said. Reyes will remain here when the club head north on April 5 and continue his fitness into extended spring training.
Right-hander Giovanny Gallegos, who arrived at camp on Thursday, threw a bullpen session on the back fields on Friday.