February 14: The St. Louis Cardinals send their top overall prospect Alex Reyes to receive an MRI on his pitching elbow. The scan reveals a complete tear of the elbow ligament, ending Reyes’ season before it begins. He had Tommy-John surgery two days later.
This was a bitter pill for Cardinals fans to swallow, especially since it came on the first official day of Spring Training. It had been an extra long winter for the Redbirds after missing the postseason by just one game in 2016, and this was not the news they wanted to break on day one.