Former Cardinals top prospect 'emotional' after outfield collision with Dylan Carlson

The St. Louis Cardinals are already reeling due to injuries.

Tommy Edman, Lars Nootbaar, Sonny Gray, and Keynan Middleton will begin the season on the injured list. But the injured list may have grown even more crowded on Monday.

During an exhibition match between the Cardinals and their archrival Chicago Cubs, Dylan Carlson was forced to leave early due to a shoulder injury.

Carlson and Jordan Walker had a miscommunication in the outfield on a fly ball by Nico Hoerner. Walker dove for the ball and missed, but Carlson tripped over his teammate and landed on his right shoulder.

After the game, Walker was clearly distraught and expressed his regret over what took place.

"I gave 100 percent effort trying to catch that ball and I feel really bad for running into him," said Walker. I think I saw him too late, as well. When I'm diving for that ball, I'm trying to get into his sights there. I think it was just a miscommunication on both of our parts."

Jordan Walker upset over collision with Carlson

With Edman and Nootbaar already out, the Cardinals cannot afford to lose Carlson for any amount of time, especially with the way he has been swinging the bat this spring.

The 25-year-old is hitting .271 with three home runs and 13 RBI this spring. He initially won the starting center field job over Victor Scott II. However, the Cardinals may be forced to give Scott the nod for Opening Day with Carlson's injury.

Walker clearly felt bad about what took place and took responsibility for the collision in the outfield.

"Either he called me, and I didn't hear it, or we didn't call each other off at all," Walker said.

The Cardinals may also be forced to dive back into the trade and free agent markets to find a temporary solution if Carlson hits the injured list. Former Cardinals Tommy Pham and Corey Dickerson are both still free agents and are more than capable of taking reps in center field if need be.

We'll see what the Cardinals ultimately decide to do, but this could be an option if they want to give Scott more at-bats at Triple-A Memphis. Michael Siani has been named to the Opening Day roster, but likely won't be the starting center fielder.

"It's just really frustrating because he's been swinging the bat so well and he's already done it defensively," Walker continued. "It's just really frustrating on my part, and I just hate that it went down the way that it did today."