Allen Craig is ready for Cardinals’ 2014

In order to get Matt Adams into the lineup on an everyday basis, the St. Louis Cardinals have moved Allen Craig to right field.

Craig, who has logged plenty of time in the outfield, but was primarily the Cardinals’ first baseman the last two years, is coming off of missing the last six weeks of the regular season due to ligament damage in his foot. He did not play through the first two round of the postseason, but came back to man first base in the World Series and hit .375. Adams played while Craig was injured and had several key hits for St. Louis down the stretch on their return to the postseason. Now “Big City” will look to be more than just a power hitting pinch hitter as he slides into the everyday role.

After a month of prescribed inactivity, allowing him to rest his foot without surgery, Craig is ready to return to the outfield. In an interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Allen says he’s gone through the rehab.

"I took a month off from doing anything, really, on my feet. I started rehabbing and working out and conditioning after that. I’ve been doing it ever since, and it feels pretty good right now. I’ll be ready for Spring Training and ready for the season…I just needed to take a month off and stay off it as much as possible and let things heal, get back to the basics of rehab."

While he’s been rehabbing, Craig has also begun training to strengthen his arm and increase his throwing distance. He has run agility drills and worked on increasing his range in the outfield, where Craig says he’s most comfortable.