Cardinals third baseman Troy Glaus was only expected to miss the first few weeks of this baseball season as he recovered from his shoulder surgery. This week, however, he hit a significant snag in his rehabilitation and will miss at least the first two months of the season. Two months would be the absolute best-case scenario, because the Cardinals reportedly won't re-evaluate Glaus' shoulder until June 1. Considering he'd still need to build up strength and work his way up to speed in a minor-league rehab assignment, the Cards could be without their third baseman until the All-Star break.
No real specific reasons were given as to the setback.
"It's just not responding as quickly as we'd hoped," Glaus said in Jupiter, Fla. "It obviously didn't go as smoothly or uneventfully as we had hoped."This leaves the Cardinals with David Freese as their likely option at third. Freese has never played in the big leagues, but he did hit .306 with 26 home runs and 91 RBI in Triple-A last season. He'll turn 26 in April as well, so he certainly could be ready to take on a big-league role. If not, big-time prospect Brett Wallace could get a quick promotion to the majors. The Arizona State product didn't need much time to adjust to pro pitching after being drafted 13th overall last June. He compiled a .957 OPS between Single-A and Double-A ball.
Of course, maybe they should move another outfielder to the infield? Maybe try Rick Ankiel at third? Or, wait, I have a better idea: They could move Albert Pujols back across the diamond and then play Colby Rasmus at first.
