The St. Louis Cardinals have started to get some reinforcements back, but still are dealing with a handful of impactful injuries.

St. Louis recently got star hurler Sonny Gray back on the mound and outfielder Lars Nootbaar back in the lineup, but still are awaiting the returns of outfielder Dylan Carlson and Tommy Edman. Neither Carlson nor Edman have appeared in a game with the Cardinals yet this season.

Edman had offseason wrist surgery and has been dealing with the fallout and setbacks of that and Carlson has been dealing with a shoulder sprain that he suffered toward the end of Spring Training. Although neither is ready to return, both will take an important step in their recovery on Monday, according to MLB.com’s John Denton.

“Cardinals manager Oli Marmol said (center fielder) Dylan Carlson (shoulder sprain) and (center fielder) Tommy Edman (wrist surgery) will ramp up their rehab processes on Monday,” Denton said. “They will hit off a tee and off soft-toss throws from coaches.”

This is a great sign for the young outfielders. While this doesn’t give an exact return date, the fact that both are doing well enough in their recovery to start hitting off a tee is a good sign. Both likely still will be a few weeks away because they will have to get some action in the minor leagues, but reinforcements should be on the way soon.

St. Louis has had an up-and-down start to the 2024 campaign, but it sounds like things are looking up.