Holliday on disabled list, but Cards anticipate he could return this season

Left fielder Matt Holliday was placed on the St. Louis Cardinals’ disabled list Thursday with a strained right quadriceps.

Holliday reinjured the quad running to first base in the first inning Wednesday against the Cincinnati Reds. He previously missed 31 games because of a strained quad.

In terms of severity, the Cardinals called Holliday’s most recent injury a Grade II strain. The muscle is not completely ruptured, but there is extensive damage to muscle fibers and a three- to- six-week period of recovery is normal.

“We’re still very hopeful that he’ll be able to contribute this year,” Cardinals General Manager John Mozeliak said. “A lot will really be determined over the next week or two. We’ll see how he goes. It’s very disappointing, obviously, because we were hopeful he would be back in that lineup. When he was playing, you saw glimpses of why he’s important to this team.”

Holliday suffered his first injury June 8 in Colorado. The Cardinals were 18-13 without him. Holliday returned July 17 and had batted .207 (6-for-29) with one homer and five RBIs in 11 games. He is batting .290 with four home runs and 31 RBIs in 63 games overall.

Holliday still wasn’t running at 100 percent when the injury reoccurred, although the Cardinals believed the leg was healing and Holliday was progressing to a clean bill of health.

Mozeliak disagreed that Holliday came back too soon.

“He had passed all the tests to come back,” Mozeliak said. “Probably the one thing you want to reflect on is he did not go out and play baseball, but had he, this still may have happened.”

Through a club spokesman, Holliday said he would discuss the injury Friday.

Holliday’s spot on the roster was filled by Brandon Moss, a first baseman and outfielder acquired from the Cleveland Indians on Thursday morning for minor-league pitcher Rob Kaminsky.

“The little bit I’ve seen of (Kaminsky), he made a good impression,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “But we got a player coming in with the ability to help us right now and is also controlled (contractually) for next year. You’ve got to give something to get something.”

Lineup altered

Matheny’s batting order had a new look Thursday as he used Matt Carpenter in the leadoff spot, followed by Randal Grichuk and Kolten Wong. Wong never had batted third.

“Matt Carpenter can be a fabulous leadoff guy and Kolten can fit about anywhere in the lineup,” Matheny said. “I’m excited to see how that maybe comes together, and then mix in a little bit of right-handed potential in between them in the second spot with Randal. You could easily see a Stephen Piscotty be there as well.”

Wong has been the leadoff hitter in 51 games, but his 11 home runs are tied for second on the team with Grichuk. Matheny said Holliday’s absence made it possible to bat Wong third.

“We never rule out anything,” Matheny said. “But Matt has been taking good at-bats when healthy, and we like him there. It was a good spot for him.”

Walden slowed

Reliever Jordan Walden exited his rehab outing after two-thirds of an inning Wednesday with Class AAA Memphis because of “heat exhaustion,” Mozeliak said.

The issue will slow Walden’s return to the big-league roster, which might have been this weekend or early next week.

“He’ll be re-evaluated,” Mozeliak said. “Hopefully, he throws again (Friday) or Saturday, and from there, we’ll make a decision. Given (Wednesday), he won’t be going back-to-back (days). I would think his next outing would be one inning.”

Glad to be back

Infielder Greg Garcia rejoined the Cardinals on Thursday when he took the roster spot of Dan Johnson, who was designated for assignment.

“I’m just going to try to go out there and compete like I did last time, just try to do my best and do whatever it takes to help this team win,” said Garcia, whose eighth-inning pinch-hit home run June 26 tied the Chicago Cubs 2-2 in a game the Cardinals won 3-2 in 10 innings.

Garcia is batting .385 (5-for-13) and also has a double.

“I definitely feel a little more comfortable up here,” he said. “I’m just ready to go. To be on the best team in baseball and come up here and try to help this team win is something special and something I really cherish.”

New TV deal

The Cardinals and Fox Sports Midwest on Thursday came to an agreement on a new television rights deal. It will begin in 2018 and will run 15 seasons through the 2032 season. The deal is expected to net the Cardinals $1 billion.

Fox Sports Midwest also announced an extension of its partnership with Ballpark Village, which includes a second-floor studio facing Busch Stadium and a naming rights sponsorship of Fox Sports Midwest Live! – the restaurant and entertainment venue at the heart of the project.

Fox Sports Midwest and the Cardinals are in their 22nd season. Under the new agreement, Fos Sports Midwest will continue to produce all locally available regular-season games.

This story was originally published July 30, 2015 at 6:17 PM with the headline "Holliday on disabled list, but Cards anticipate he could return this season."