With dozens of Cardinals players expected back in St. Louis next week for the franchise’s annual Winter Warm-Up festivities, it's a good time to gauge the progress of injuries that could play major roles in the club’s fortunes in the season ahead.

Tommy Edman, who is projected to be the team’s Opening Day starter in center field after being a Gold Glove Award finalist as a utility player in 2022 and ‘23, is still recovering from an arthroscopic surgery on his right wrist in October, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told MLB.com. Edman missed three weeks last July with right wrist inflammation, and the injury continued to bother him at the plate through the end of the season. The Cards are hopeful that Edman will be fully recovered by the start of Spring Training.

Edman, who became a first-time father this offseason, is arguably the Cardinals' most indispensable player because of his positional versatility and his elite defensive skills, and he will open the year in center field. However, he could shift to shortstop if rookie Masyn Winn struggles at the plate. (If that happens, it could create a runway for speedy rookie Victor Scott II to become the team’s everyday center fielder.)

Brendan Donovan, the first rookie in franchise history to win a Gold Glove in 2022, saw his promising sophomore season cut short by ligament damage in his right arm. Instead of undergoing ligament replacement, known as Tommy John surgery, Donovan opted for a ligament repair -- an internal brace procedure -- that should allow him to be back in time for the start of Spring Training.

Mozeliak said recently that Donovan has recovered nicely from the procedure and is fully on track to be ready by the Feb. 12 Spring Training report date for pitchers and catchers. Donovan, who smashed 11 home runs in 327 at-bats last season, has backed reports of his steady progress by posting various throwing and weight-lifting workout videos on social media in recent weeks.

Then there’s the curious case of lefty slugger Nolan Gorman and his balky back. Still four months shy of his 24th birthday, Gorman has seen his two MLB seasons marred by sporadic back pain. He revealed to MLB.com last season that he originally injured his back while doing deadlifts in 2020 at the club’s alternate site during the COVID-19 pandemic that wiped out that season’s Minor League play.

Gorman was easily the Cardinals' most improved player last season, smashing a team-best 27 home runs and making dramatic improvements defensively as a second baseman. However, the former first-round pick was limited to just 119 games because of a lingering back injury that cropped up at several inopportune times. Even the hamstring strain that felled Gorman late in the season was believed to have stemmed from a back issue that required him to put in extra “maintenance” daily.

Just how worried should the Cardinals be about the back injury that is already troubling a potential 40-homer-hitting superstar in Gorman? Mozeliak feels that Gorman will eventually figure out ways to better manage the lingering issue.

“I think we’re cognizant of it, but I wouldn’t say I’m worried about it,” Mozeliak said. “It’s not keeping me up at night. I think he’s a player who is learning the rigors of the day-to-day life in the big leagues and what is required. But when you look at guys who have long careers in this game, they tend to find a way to go pole to pole and stay healthy.”

More than 50 Cardinals players, coaches, front-office staff and alumni are expected to be on hand for the team’s annual three-day Winter Warm-Up festivities next week at Busch Stadium and Ballpark Village. The event, which will be held from Jan. 13-15, is the year’s largest fundraising event for Cardinals Care. A Winter Warm-Up ticket is required to obtain autographs at the event. Single-day and three-day tickets are available.

While some player autographs at the event are free, others require a monetary donation. Willson Contreras autographs will cost $125, while autographs from Edman and 2006 World Series MVP David Eckstein are $75. It’s a $50 donation for the autographs of Hall of Fame managers Tony La Russa and Whitey Herzog (pre-signed), and $40 for current manager Oliver Marmol. A $30 donation will be required to nab signatures from new Cardinals pitchers Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson.

Already sold out are autographs from 2011 World Series MVP David Freese ($75), Paul Goldschmidt ($75, pre-signed), Jordan Walker ($75), Sonny Gray ($50), Gorman ($50), Lars Nootbaar ($50), Ozzie Smith ($50, pre-signed), Ted Simmons ($50, pre-signed), Donovan ($40), Winn ($40), Scott ($10), Thomas Saggese ($10) and Tink Hence ($10). Some 14 former players and current executives, such as chairman Bill DeWitt Jr., president Bill DeWitt III and Mozeliak, will sign autographs for free.

As for the Cardinals Caravan, some 40 Cards players, prospects, alumni and TV/radio broadcasters will make 21 stops throughout Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee, Arkansas, Indiana and Kentucky from Jan. 12-15. The first 400 children ages 15 and younger through the door at the events will receive tickets for one autograph on the caravan stops.

The Cardinals and Live Nation teamed up to announce that legendary singers Billy Joel and Sting will co-headline a concert at Busch Stadium on Sept. 27. Joe Buck, a Ford C. Frick Hall of Fame nominee in December, was on hand at Busch Stadium on Thursday to announce the upcoming concert in his hometown of St. Louis.

Tickets for the one-night-only concert will go on sale on Jan. 12 at 10 a.m. CT on LiveNation.com.

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