Packy Naughton left a Triple-A outing on Wednesday after what looked like another arm injury just three pitches into the start. The 29-year-old threw a 1-1 pitch well wide of the strike zone, immediately grabbed his left elbow, took a couple of steps toward home plate and then bent over in pain before walking off with a trainer while holding his left arm.
Matt Swierad said afterward, “That’s never a good sign,” and added, “Hopefully nothing too serious there, just something he was trying to be cautious about.”
The left-hander had been trying to return from a series of arm injuries that began in 2023, when he tore his flexor tendon after four scoreless appearances and missed the rest of the season. In 2024, while rehabbing, he re-tore the flexor tendon and tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow, then underwent Tommy John surgery and missed both the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
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That history made Wednesday’s exit especially jarring because the Cardinals had hoped Naughton could be part of their bullpen in 2026. He signed a two-year minor league deal at the end of the 2024 season, then put together a 1.29 ERA over seven spring training appearances in 2026, a promising step for a pitcher trying to rebuild his career.
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Across three seasons, Naughton has appeared in 37 games and gone 0-6 with a 4.98 ERA and one save in 59.2 innings pitched. The latest setback leaves the Cardinals with another unanswered question about whether one of their bullpen hopefuls can finally get back on the mound and stay there.
