St. Louis Cardinals Inside Pitch 2009-01-27

St. Louisan David Freese, who turns 26 in April, may be spending part of that month with his hometown team. Freese, a third baseman acquired from San Diego in the Jim Edmonds trade before last season, is the leading candidate to replace Troy Glaus for the first month or so of the season after Glaus underwent arthroscopic surgery on Jan. 21 to smooth a muscle tear near his right shoulder.

Glaus will be sidelined approximately 12 weeks. If Glaus had been healthy, Freese probably would have started the season again at Class AAA Memphis, although in 2010, it was expected that he and Brett Wallace, a first-round draft pick last year, would battle for the third base job.

With such organizational depth at that position, including Allen Craig (22 homers, .304 at Class AA Springfield), the Cardinals are unlikely to re-sign Glaus after his contract expires this year.

The Glaus surgery came as a surprise. Glaus, honored at the St. Louis Baseball Writers' dinner, had said it was "awesome" to be enjoying a healthy winter. Glaus, however, had suffered some discomfort in the shoulder while working out in December. The discomfort was not alleviated by a cortisone shot, so he had surgery performed by Los Angeles Angels orthopedist Lewis Yocum.

The 12-week estimate for his recovery is uncertain.

"It could be shorter; it could be longer," general manager John Mozeliak said. "Frankly, we didn't even know (surgery) was a possibility until recently."

Glaus, who hit .270 with 27 homers and 99 RBIs last year, is expected to participate in baseball-related activities for part of spring training. However, it believed the 12-week estimate does not cover a probable injury-rehabilitation assignment.

Author: Fox Sports

Author's Website: http://www.foxsports.com

Added: January 27, 2009