Atlanta's injury situation is quietly doing significant damage. Ronald Acuña Jr. is on the 10-day IL with his second hamstring strain of the season, and manager Walt Weiss has called him a long shot to return before the All-Star break. Spencer Strider and Spencer Schwellenbach are both on the 60-day IL with elbow issues. Sean Murphy is out with a fractured finger. Jurickson Profar won't appear at all — his 162-game PED suspension appeal was denied, and he's done for the year. The Braves are still winning at a .595 clip, which is a credit to the roster, but this lineup has real holes.
- Day-To-DaySkylar Hales (RP) — Hales was traded from the Rangers to the Cardinals on Thursday along with Mason Molina and international bonus pool money in exchange for Phil Maton, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.06/30
- Day-To-DayChase Davis (CF) — Davis swatted a pair of home runs Monday in Grapefruit League action versus the Orioles.06/30
- Day-To-DayZack Thompson (RP) — Thompson (shoulder) has been shut down due to an intercostal strain, Amber Winkler of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.06/28
- Day-To-DaySem Robberse (SP) — Robberse (elbow) has been sent to the Cardinals' Florida Complex League affiliate to begin a rehab assignment.06/16
- Day-To-DayPacky Naughton (RP) — Naughton will undergo surgery next month to repair the damaged UCL in his left elbow, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.05/14
- Day-To-DayIxan Henderson (SP) — Henderson (elbow) is starting the season on the 60-day injured list at Triple-A Memphis.05/08
- PaternityRyne Stanek (RP) — The Cardinals placed Stanek on the paternity leave list Tuesday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.06/30
- 60-Day-ILRamon Urias (3B) — Urias (elbow) returned to St. Louis to undergo an examination on his left elbow, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.06/12
- 10-Day-ILRonald Acuna Jr. (RF) — Acuna (hamstring) went through a full pregame workout at Truist Park in Atlanta on Tuesday, Chad Bishop of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.06/30
- 10-Day-ILKyle Farmer (DH) — Farmer (forearm) will begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Columbus on Tuesday.06/23
- 15-Day-ILRobert Suarez (RP) — An MRI on Suarez's right elbow came back negative Friday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.06/27
- suspensionJurickson Profar (LF) — Profar will miss the full 2026 season after the appeal of his 162-game PED suspension was denied Thursday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.05/08
- 60-Day-ILAJ Smith-Shawver (SP) — Smith-Shawver (elbow) pitched three innings Tuesday during a rehab start with Single-A Augusta, allowing one run on three hits while striking out four batters, Chad Bishop of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.07/01
- 60-Day-ILSpencer Schwellenbach (SP) — Schwellenbach (elbow) will likely report to Atlanta's spring training facility in early July and could be a candidate to rejoin the major-league rotation by late August or early September, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.06/29
- 60-Day-ILDanny Young (RP) — Young (elbow) walked and hit a batter but struck out three in a scoreless inning in his first rehab appearance with Double-A Columbus on Tuesday.06/24
- 60-Day-ILSpencer Strider (SP) — Atlanta transferred Strider (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Wednesday.06/17
- 60-Day-ILSean Murphy (C) — Murphy had the cast on his left hand removed Tuesday and is now wearing a splint to protect his fractured middle finger, Grant McAuley of the Marietta Daily Journal reprots.06/04
- 60-Day-ILJoe Jimenez (RP) — Atlanta manager Walt Weiss revealed Wednesday that Jimenez underwent another surgery on his left knee 3-to-4 weeks ago, Grant McAuley of the Marietta Daily Journal reports.05/13
- 60-Day-ILJoey Wentz (RP) — Atlanta placed Wentz (knee) on the 60-day injured list Tuesday.05/08
Waldrep's workload Thursday will almost certainly be capped hard. Walt Weiss said after his June 26 debut that the organization doesn't want to decondition him as a starter, but handing him a 6-inning rubber-game assignment after 1 relief outing since elbow surgery isn't realistic. That means Atlanta's bullpen — already without Robert Suarez (elbow, 15-day IL) — gets a heavy workload. St. Louis has its own depth issues: Ryne Stanek is on paternity leave, Zack Thompson is shut down with an intercostal strain, and both clubs are leaning on thin bullpens to close out a game where the starters were never going to be the story.