Spring Training 2011 is just about to begin, but one of the most exciting sideshows of the St. Louis Cardinals' trip to Jupiter, Florida, is still up in the air; nobody quite knows when Jim Edmonds will be able to return to Grapefruit League action. Edmonds, whose decision to return for the 2011 season was a late one, had surgery to repair his season-ending Achilles tendon injury just last month. With pitchers and catchers reporting this week, Edmonds could still be recovering at the start of spring; he won't be ready for the team's first workouts.
One thing's certain: Edmonds, for all his injuries, can still hit. After not playing in 2009 Edmonds returned to his NL Central tour in 2010, joining the Milwaukee Brewers and the Cincinnati Reds and hitting .276/.342/.504 over 246 at-bats between them. Edmonds remains seven home runs away from 400 in an MLB career that began with the California Angels in 1993.
Earlier today Tony La Russa characterized Edmonds as hobbled following his offseason surgery, but the California native has told the team he's been getting into game shape since negotiations for his minor league comeback began.