The Cardinals placed Jack Flaherty on the 15-day injured list this week, as the right-hander is again battling shoulder issues. The club hasn’t provided any sort of estimated timeline on Flaherty’s return, but manager Oli Marmol said this afternoon that the star hurler wouldn’t throw for the next two-to-three weeks (via John Denton of MLB.com). President of baseball operations John Mozeliak indicated there was no structural damage but Flaherty continues to feel discomfort tied to a strain in the area.
Arguably the Cardinals best pitcher when at his best, Flaherty has been plagued by health concerns over the past couple seasons. He missed a good portion of the 2021 campaign after suffering an oblique strain. Upon returning, Flaherty injured his shoulder and lost a month late in the season — a development that required he return as a reliever at the end of the year.
While club and player were surely both hopeful he’d put those issues behind him, Flaherty began this season on the injured list after being diagnosed with shoulder bursitis in Spring Training. That delayed his 2022 debut until mid-June. Reinstated two weeks ago, the 26-year-old made three starts before additional discomfort arose.
Mozeliak said earlier this week the club believed Flaherty would return at some point this season, a sentiment echoed by the pitcher himself. A shutdown of multiple weeks reinforces that he’s looking at another extended absence, however, as he won’t pick up a ball until around the All-Star Break in a best-case scenario. Even if he doesn’t incur any setbacks, the club is sure to exercise caution building up his throwing program from there given his recent injury history.