Expectations might not be high for the 2025 St. Louis Cardinals based on John Mozeliak's offseason inactivity, but the upcoming season is a huge one for the young players currently in the Cardinals organization. Perhaps nobody faces more pressure to show something than outfielder Jordan Walker, whose future in St. Louis might be on thin ice.
Not too long ago, Walker was considered one of the best prospects in all of baseball, a five-tool player with superstar potential. He had a mostly promising rookie season but struggled mightily to the tune of a .619 OPS in 2024, spending most of the year in the Minor Leagues after initially being expected to be a starter in St. Louis' outfield.
Walker again is expected to start in 2025 for the Cardinals, but a strong spring training would certainly improve his chances of earning a longer leash. Well, Walker got off to a 2-for-14 start to go along with eight strikeouts in spring training despite promising reports of him gelling with new hitting coach Brant Brown. And now, he's suffered a knee injury in what appears to have been a terrifyingly normal way.
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray's work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot,our weekly MLB newsletter and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.
Jordan Walker's spring training injury is hard for Cardinals fans to wrap their heads around
Here is footage of the second-inning play where #STLCards RF Jordan Walker is believed to have experienced pain in his left knee while tracking a fly ball. Walker was removed from the game because of that pain and will undergo further evaluation, per the club. pic.twitter.com/2IqhwRvVig
— John Denton (@JohnDenton555) March 4, 2025
Does anyone see where Walker hurt himself here? At first (and second) glance, this looks like a routine putout. Instead, this play, apparently, was enough to knock Walker out of the game. It's possible Walker hurt himself in his first (and only) at-bat of the game, but he struck out in that plate appearance, meaning he did not have to run at all.
It's important to note that this is just spring training, and there's no reason for Walker to push it if he's feeling any discomfort in games that don't count. But it's definitely eye-opening to see a player with a lot to prove like Walker leave a game. That would suggest he's in a good deal of pain, which would be a brutal outcome for St. Louis.
All we know now is that the 22-year-old is set to be re-evaluated once the team returns to Jupiter after the game to determine how he might have hurt himself and how severe the injury is.
Jordan Walker left the game here in West Palm Beach with pain in his left knee, per #stlcards.
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) March 4, 2025
He will be re-evaluated once the team returns to Jupiter to determine cause and severity. He left after one at-bat and then catching a fly ball in right field in 2nd inning.
The fact that it's hard to identify what happened to Walker is scary. Hopefully, the Cardinals catch a break when Walker's injury update is revealed.