Cardinals flamethrower Jordan Hicks will refrain from baseball-related activities for at least one month after he received an injection in his right elbow last week, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said before Tuesday’s series opener against the Pirates at Busch Stadium.

The club did not specify which type of injection Hicks received.

It was one announcement among several on a busy day for St. Louis, which also hinted that Miles Mikolas (right shoulder soreness) and Carlos Martínez (right ankle sprain) could rejoin the rotation as early as this weekend’s set against the Cubs, alongside placing left fielder Tyler O'Neill on the injured list with a left middle finger fracture.

Daniel Ponce de Leon (right shoulder inflammation) and John Nogowski (left hand bone bruise) were also reinstated from the IL; righty Junior Fernández was optioned to the Minors.

For Hicks, though, Mozeliak’s announcement solidifies a timeline for the Cardinals’ prized and young right-hander. Hicks, transferred to the 60-day injured list on Friday after exiting a May 1 contest against Pittsburgh with right elbow inflammation, entered a rehab program on Monday and will be re-evaluated after the month’s time. Hicks is eligible to return in early July, though manager Mike Shildt and the club have hinted that it could be a lengthier timeframe before the righty’s return.

“Right now, it's just going to be baby steps and for the next month to allow him some healing,” Mozeliak said, adding Hicks will continue to stay in shape and work with the organization’s physical therapy team.

Tuesday was more a solidifying of plans long mulled over for Hicks, as the club was weighing whether some form of injection -- potentially a PRP or stem-cell jab -- or standard rest would be the 24-year-old’s path. Now that the course has been decided upon, Hicks faces yet another journey back to the mound, as he was making his first appearances since he underwent Tommy John surgery in June 2019 and opted out of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season as a high-risk individual (Type 1 diabetes).

The Cardinals do not believe the current elbow ailment is directly related to Hicks’ Tommy John recovery.

Mikolas, C-Mart back soon
The Cardinals are finalizing their rotation for the weekend series against the Cubs and ensuing three-game set against the White Sox that begins Monday. What seems to be firm is that Mikolas and Martínez will take part in those six games, though the club is still weighing when to return each right-hander.

Mikolas, who threw six shutout innings and hit a homer in his latest rehab start with Triple-A Memphis on Sunday is “ready about any time to plug in,” Shildt said, while Martínez was scheduled to throw a side session on Tuesday, which will solidify his next step, too.

Friday also kick-starts a stretch of 17 consecutive days without an off-day for St. Louis. Shildt said they are entertaining expanding to a six-man rotation once again; Mikolas and Martínez could fill such voids.

In other pitcher news, Andrew Miller (toe blister on right foot) could also go on a rehab assignment by the end of the week, Mozeliak said.

O’Neill’s outlook
The Cardinals will test O’Neill’s finger in a week’s time, hoping the injury does not derail him for more than about two weeks. O’Neill was removed from Sunday’s loss in the seventh inning, after jamming the finger while stealing second base in the sixth.

What initially seemed to be an innocent-looking play resulted in O’Neill’s second stint on the IL this season -- and at a time where he’s swinging the bat far better since returning from the first stint.

“A level of frustration when you have someone that’s swinging the bat well. Obviously, he was a middle-of-the-order-type contributor, which was great to see,” Mozeliak said. “But unfortunately, the way we're looking at this is really about, it's a long season, and having a temporary break in that for him is disappointing, but I think trying to take the long view here and what's best for him.”

On the Pujols fit
Albert Pujols is a Dodger. It became official on Monday, less than a week removed from being released by the Angels. The Cardinals publicly voiced their interest in bringing back the franchise cornerstone but in the end decided it was not a perfect marriage.

“When we first learned that Albert was potentially going to be available, from an internal standpoint, we did a lot of analysis on what that may or may not look like for our club,” Mozeliak said. “In the end, we thought there were a lot of complicating factors in trying to make that work. I mean, clearly, the story of trying to bring him back would have had some very exciting narratives, but the reality of how much playing time and where that would fit in seemed to be very complicated for us at this time.”