Allen Craig Injury: Cardinals OF Has Knee Fracture, Not Contusion

When Cardinals outfielder Allen Craig slammed his knee into a rail trying to make a defensive play, it looked bad, and it seemed as if Craig would have to miss a fair amount of time. That he nearly avoided a trip to the disabled list was borderline miraculous. But he was still put on the disabled list anyway, and now, via Matthew Leach, we learn that Craig's injury is a bit more severe than we were told:

General manager John Mozeliak said Wednesday that Allen Craig has a fracture in his right patella (kneecap). Craig received a follow-up examination Tuesday for the knee injury he suffered last week in Houston, and the fracture was discovered.

At first, Craig was said to have a contusion. Now he has a fracture, and though it's only a small fracture, it does change the timeline. No longer can Craig be expected back with the Cardinals after the minimum. General manager John Mozeliak says it could be "anywhere from three to six weeks."

It's a bad break (pun!) for Craig, but this news does mean more playing time for Jon Jay. So that's really good news for Jon Jay.

Allen Craig Injury: Cardinals Outfielder On DL With Knee Contusion

Tuesday night, St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Allen Craig injured his knee after ramming it into a rail trying to make a catch. He had to be helped off the field, but further examinations revealed only a contusion, and though Craig also received a few stitches, he didn't appear to be badly injured.

At that point, Craig was considered day-to-day. But on Sunday, having grown tired of playing a man down, the Cardinals have placed Craig on the disabled list:

As rookie outfielder Andrew Brown, the ninth player brought up from Class AAA Memphis this season, arrived this morning, outfielder/infielder Allen Craig prepared to leave. Not only was Craig, who has a bruised, still swollen right knee, headed to the 15-day disabled list, he was preparing to go back to St. Louis to be examined on Monday.

Craig is disappointed by the move, because he feels like he's close to being able to play, but the Cardinals didn't want to go with a short bench any longer. So Craig will get some more rest, and he should be good to go when his time's up.

Jon Jay has taken over in the outfield in Craig's absence, and with his .786 OPS, he's a capable stopgap. Andrew Brown, meanwhile, is a 26-year-old outfielder who posted a 1.074 OPS with triple-A Memphis. It's unclear how often he'll get to play, but the likelihood is that he hangs out on the bench.