The Cardinals will be without 22-year old righty reliever/starter Jordan Swagerty for the entire 2012 season as he needs Tommy John Surgery. Swagerty pitched in 36 games (12 starts) in A+AA-ball last year for the Cardinals and he was 5-3 with a 1.83 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. Swagerty only gave up 68 hits while whiffing 89 batters in his first 93 2/3 innings as a professional pitcher last year. He also only walked 23 batters which shows what kind of command and stuff he has. Swagerty came into this season as the Cardinals’ #10 prospect according to Baseball America, so here’s to hoping that he gets even better as a pitcher when he returns to action.

The Cardinals have placed 27-year old righty swinging 3B/OF Allen Craig on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to March 26th, due to a right knee injury. Craig played in 75 games for the Cardinals last year and he was 63 of 200 (.315 avg, .917 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 11 homers, 40 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Craig has now played in 119 games in his first two years for the Cardinals and he is 91 of 314 (.290 avg, .842 OPS) with 45 runs scored, 15 homers, 58 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. The Cardinals don’t think Craig is going to miss too much of the regular season and that’s a good thing because he’s going to be needed a lot in 2012.

32-year old lefty swinging Skip Schumaker has a torn right oblique muscle, which will likely cause him to start the 2012 season on the D.L. He played in 117 games for the Cardinals last year and he was 104 of 367 (.283 avg, .685 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 2 homers and 38 RBIs. Tyler Greene and Daniel Descalso will likely duke it out for the starting 2B job the rest of this spring.

UPDATE: (3/30/2012) - Skip Schumaker will start the 2012 season on the 15-day disabled list.

27-year old righty swinging OF/3B/1B Allen Craig is going to be out of action for 4-6 months after having knee surgery right around Thanksgiving. This is a big loss for the Cardinals as Craig could be out until May. He played in 75 games for the Cardinals last year and he was 63 for 200 (.315 avg, .917 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 11 homers, 40 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Craig has now played in 119 games in his first two years with the Cardinals and he is 91 for 314 (.290 avg, .842 OPS) with 45 runs scored, 15 homers, 58 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Craig is in line for a bump in P.T. this year, so the Cardinals hope he heals up quickly.

The Cardinals have replaced starting LF Matt Holliday on the roster for tonight’s game due to a sprained right wrist that was going to prevent him from playing. Holliday played in 6 games in the World Series and he was 3 for 19 (.158 avg, .595 OPS) with 5 runs scored. He played in 16 games in the post-season this year and he was 15 for 51 (.294 avg, .831 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 1 homer and 5 RBIs. Allen Craig will replace Holliday in LF tonight. He has played in all six games in the World Series so far and he is 4 for 15 (.267 avg, 1.088 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 2 homers and 4 RBIs. Craig has now played in 14 games in the post-season so far and he is 8 for 33 (.242 avg, .966 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 3 homers and 7 RBIs. Craig has been a money player for the Cardinals in the post-season, so Holliday’s injury could be a blessing in disguise for the Cardinals. The Cardinals have added rookie outfielder Ardon Chambers to the roster to replace Holliday. Chambers has played in 10 games in the post-season for the Cardinals so far and he is 1 for 5 (.200 avg, .367 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs.