FanPost

Allen Craig's Lisfranc Injury

So, they've finally given some detail about the nature of Allen Craig's DL stint. He has a Lisfranc injury. Which means that the middle bones of his foot (the metatarsals, which are basically the foot equivalent of the first joint of your finger, closest to your palm) have been misaligned from the joint or fractured. This means that Craig needs to be in a boot for 6 weeks. Since the injury happened on September 4th, he should be out of the boot on October 16th. That means Craig's foot is likely to be immobilized until roughly midway through the NLCS. And that's only if the dislocation is less than 2 mm (the maximum distance which is likely to heal naturally). If it's greater than 2 mm, he'll likely need offseason surgery.

So, if we're lucky, and Matt Adams keeps hitting like he has been, and the pitching staff keeps pitching lights out, and we make it to the World Series, there's a chance we might be getting a very potent right-handed pinch-hitter to bring up in key spots. But even if he comes back, he won't have much (any?) time to rehab his foot, and the metatarsals are critical to running, so we shouldn't expect him to be able to play the field or run for himself. Craig is, at best, just a bat for driving in RISP, at least until next season. He's going to be hobbled. Of course, we all know what a hobbled pinch hitter can do in the World Series.

But there's a risk - running to first base is not something that you want to do on a freshly-healed, still-weak metatarsal. And Craig is a lot more likely to hit a line drive up the middle than bomb one over the left field wall. He's going to need to run, at least a bit. So what do you think - if Craig is hurt to the point where it's risking a more serious injury - one that might impact 2014 - to play him in even a limited role in the World Series, should Craig and the Cards take that risk?