St. Louis Cardinals third baseman David Freese has notoriously fragile ankles, but in Sunday's loss to the Atlanta Braves he added a new feat in the Legend of David Freese and Injury, fracturing his left hand according to the Cardinals' official Twitter. Freese will be evaluated tomorrow by team doctors, but the Cardinals have already dealt with one hand fracture this season—to reliever Brian Tallet, who went on the disabled list on April 12 and is due back a little less than a month later.
Four-corners utility man Allen Craig is currently on rehab assignment with the AA Springfield Cardinals, and could play some third base when he comes back, but Nick Punto and Daniel Descalso are likely to see the bulk of the innings in Freese's absence. AAA third baseman Matt Carpenter nearly made the team out of Spring Training and, after a very slow start, is hitting .361 with six walks and two home runs in his last 10 games.
Freese was hitting .365/.396/.482 to start the 2011 season; ankle injuries in 2010 limited him to just 70 games in 2010.