JUPITER, Fla. • Matt Carpenter isn’t in Thursday’s Cardinals lineup against the Miami Marlins, but he said before the game that it wouldn’t be long, probably at the start of next week.
Carpenter, who hasn’t played all spring as he has tended to lower back issues, did some hitting in the batting cages Thursday. Recently, manager Mike Matheny had said that Carpenter would be ready by the middle of March but Carpenter said, “That’s being cautions. I think it’ll be sooner.
“I’m going to have two weeks of playing (games),” said Carpenter.
Matheny said today, “Every day we give him a little (more) and today the intensity is being kicked up, so he’s not far away.