Paul Goldschmidt Dealing With Sore Elbow During Slow Start to Spring Training
If the Cardinals want to get back to the postseason and make any kind of noise in the NL Central, they'll need standout Paul Goldschmidt at his best all season long. Unfortunately for the Cards, adversity has already arrived for their star first baseman.
On Friday morning, it's been reported Goldschmidt is dealing with some elbow soreness, which might limit him to DH duty in early spring games. Obviously, this will be something to monitor not only at Spring Training, but moving ahead towards the regular season, too.
Paul Goldschmidt has been dealing with a sore right elbow since just before workouts and not throwing hard/much in fielding drills. He’s unsure if that means he’ll be featured at DH in early games. Elbow feels better but he and #cardinals don’t want to push it this early.
— Derrick S. Goold (@dgoold) February 21, 2020
Luckily for St. Louis, his pretty swing shouldn't be affected, and he'll still head to the plate early on in Jupiter. Will he be at 1B? That's a totally different story, as the Cardinals could look to rest him up and not risk further injury to his elbow.
Last season, Goldschmidt hit .260, with 34 homers and 97 RBI. In the postseason, he posted a .270 average and added two more dingers.
Kwang-hyun Kim vs. Paul Goldschmidt. Goldschmidt homers to right. pic.twitter.com/WIbM9KBBZV
— Jeff Jones (@jmjones) February 18, 2020
For now, look for St. Louis to ease its star infielder into things. With it only being February, there's no need to put extra pressure on him, especially with the lofty expectations the club has for this campaign.