Hoping to finally stay healthy and rediscover his form at the plate, Jordan Walker’s plans were once again derailed by a sudden sharp pain in his side.
The 23-year-old outfielder was taken to the hospital before the Cardinals’ game against the Cubs on Tuesday and diagnosed with appendicitis. Fortunately, the issue was identified early, before his appendix ruptured, allowing doctors to treat him with antibiotics rather than surgery.
Despite avoiding an operation, Walker was placed on the 10-day injured list on Wednesday, retroactive to Monday. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Walker is already feeling better and is expected to return once his IL stint ends.
“It’ll be a pretty quick recovery, but he still needs four or five days of rest,” Marmol said. “It made sense to let it settle and then get him back into action. It shouldn’t be a long-term absence.”
Walker entered the season with a promise of consistent playing time as part of the team’s youth-focused rebuild. However, the 6-foot-6, 250-pound outfielder has struggled offensively in his third MLB season. In 55 games, he has slashed .210/.267/.295 with three home runs, four doubles, a triple, and 23 RBIs. Despite working closely with new hitting coach Brant Brown, Walker has struck out 63 times while drawing just 12 walks.
He briefly showed signs of turning things around in late May, going 7-for-19 with two extra-base hits and six RBIs over five games. But he was then sidelined for two weeks due to inflammation in his left wrist. Since returning, Walker has managed just 3 hits in 18 at-bats with six strikeouts, and has been overtaken in the lineup by Alec Burleson, who hit a two-run homer Monday and made two key defensive plays Tuesday.
Marmol said the team is thankful the medical issue was caught early and while Walker was under professional care.
“He was about to take batting practice when he felt something in his side,” Marmol said. “It didn’t go away and started to worsen. He saw the training staff and doctor, who ran some quick checks to rule out his appendix. Imaging showed early signs of appendicitis.”
“He stayed overnight at the hospital so they could treat him with antibiotics and avoid surgery. Thankfully, it was caught early and handled quickly. I spoke with him this morning, and he’s feeling much better.”
