ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - St. Louis Cardinals manager Oli Marmol says there is no structural damage to outfielder Jordan Walker's left knee, but he will be shut down for a week.
Walker left the Cardinals' split-squad game against the Washington Nationals in the third inning with left knee pain after he jammed his left knee, tripping over a sprinkler head while tracking a fly ball.
"Great news, everything structurally in a good spot, some inflammation above the knee," said Marmol. "We will take a week for it calm down and ramp him back up."
Marmol says because of the inflammation, they are shutting him down from all baseball activities for a week.
"We'll still have time to see him in plenty of games," said Marmol.
Marmol says Walker took the news in stride.
"Obviously, he wants to be in there everyday, but knowing this is just an inflammation, he needs to allow it to calm down," said Marmol. "But he was fine."
Walker, a former first-round pick, has long been considered one of the Cardinals' most talented prospects. But after hitting .276 with 16 homers and 51 RBIs in 117 games as a rookie, Walker substantially regressed last year, hitting just .202 with five homers and 20 RBIs in 51 games with the big-league club.
The Cardinals, who have missed the playoffs the past two season, are counting on players such as Walker to have bounce-back years after doing little to augment the roster in the offseason.
The Associated Press also contributed to the story.