Jordan Walker’s absence from the Cardinals’ lineup on Wednesday is the kind of thing that gets attention, but it doesn’t sound like a major alarm bell just yet.
The St. Louis outfielder was scratched Tuesday because of right knee inflammation, and manager Oli Marmol’s update suggested the club was hoping this would be a short-term issue.
“The hope is he is good for [Wednesday],” Marmol said, as transcribed by MLB.com's Bill Ladson. “It has been in and out, but a little more [inflammation] today as he was trying to get loose.
When he hits the bag hard sometimes, he feels it. He felt it a little bit yesterday.
Coming in today, it didn’t loosen up as quickly as we would have liked.”
Walker still wasn’t in the lineup Wednesday, but the bigger picture here is that there’s no reported negative diagnosis. For now, this looks more like a pause than a setback.
That’s especially important because Walker had been swinging the bat well before the knee issue popped up. He was riding a six-game hitting streak and had picked up two hits in three straight games before being scratched Tuesday. Over his last six games, he’s hit .310/.310/.310 with a .621 OPS, four RBIs and two runs scored.
The power hasn’t shown up lately, and Walker still hasn’t homered since winning the 2026 MLB Home Run Derby. The knee inflammation could help explain some of that quiet stretch with the bat, and a little rest may be exactly what he needs to reset.
At this stage, there’s no indication the Cardinals need to push him. With the team selling off pieces ahead of the trade deadline, there’s no real reason to rush Walker back if he’s not fully right. If anything has a chance to get worse, the smarter move is to slow things down.
Unless the Cardinals reveal more through imaging or another update, this remains something to watch rather than something to panic over. Walker is still their best overall player, and the hope is that he’s back on the field in the coming days without this turning into anything more serious.
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