Edman ready to begin rehab at Hammons Field

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The Springfield Cardinals had Monday off.

And I said goodbye to a major league player, Lars Nootbaar, who joined the St. Louis team.

Tommy Edman will take his place in the Baby Birds lineup starting Tuesday.

Edman spent the weekend taking batting practice and preparing to play in a real game.

Edman underwent surgery on his right wrist in October.

And the recovery has been slow.

It’s tested Edman’s patience, but he hopes it all pays off starting Tuesday at Hammons Field.

The Cards say he will rotate between the infield and outfield during his rehab assignment.

And Edman is happy to be in Springfield.

“It’s kind of fun to come back to where it all started. I played here for a year, late 2017 and early 2018. It was fun to go back a little bit and get back to the minor leagues. Everybody here is working really hard to get to the big leagues. And we’re having fun, too. The team here is playing really well. They won the first half of the season and there’s a lot of good, talented players. It’s fun to get back into this baseball environment, especially around a winning team,” Edman said.