FanHouse David Freese

CBS Sports' Danny Knobler is reporting on his blog that St. Louis Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak is placing Troy Glaus' odds of returning to the Cardinals' lineup in 2009 as "50-50." Given that Glaus is currently recovering from surgery on a shoulder that's bothered him on and off for six years and the constant changing of his return timetable, this isn't really surprising news, but I don't suspect that that makes it any easier for the Cardinals to hear.

If Glaus can't make it back (and to be fair, a 50-50 chance he doesn't return means that there's a 50-50 chance he does), the Cardinals are going to need more help from someone at third base. Neither Joe Thurston (.224/.336/.364) nor Brian Barden (.259/.315/.414) have been particularly good in Glaus' absence, and Tony La Russa has already chewed up and spit out rookie David Freese, who got 22 miserable at-bats before being demoted back to Triple-A Memphis.

Cardinals third baseman Troy Glaus was only expected to miss the first few weeks of this baseball season as he recovered from his shoulder surgery. This week, however, he hit a significant snag in his rehabilitation and will miss at least the first two months of the season.

Two months would be the absolute best-case scenario, because the Cardinals reportedly won't re-evaluate Glaus' shoulder until June 1. Considering he'd still need to build up strength and work his way up to speed in a minor-league rehab assignment, the Cards could be without their third baseman until the All-Star break.