Fowler (back) is expected to participate in Thursday's intrasquad game, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

EDGE Analysis

The 34-year-old has been sidelined by back tightness over the past few days, but he should be back on the field for Thursday's intrasquad action. Manager Mike Shildt previously said he wasn't concerned about the injury, and a quick return to the field would put Fowler on track for Opening Day. The veteran outfielder finished 2019 with a .238/.346/.409 slash line with 19 home runs in 150 games and is expected to begin this season starting in right field.

Fowler has missed multiple days due to back tightness and will not practice Sunday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

EDGE Analysis

Fowler's back issue appears to be minor, with manager Mike Shildt saying it's "nothing I'm overly concerned about," per Anne Rogers of MLB.com. The 34-year-old is coming off back-to-back seasons in which he struggled at the plate, but he did conclude the 2019 campaign on a high note., so there's reason to be optimistic that Fowler will open the season with plentiful opportunities for playing time..

Fowler should have plenty of opportunities to prove worthy of consistent playing time early in an abbreviated 2020 season, Mark Saxon of The Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

Saxon was responding to a reader question about how much leeway manager Mike Shildt will give Fowler, who's had plenty of struggles at the plate over the last two seasons, to work through any difficulties before curtailing the veteran's playing time to some degree. The view is that Fowler has bought himself some slack by displaying legitimate signs of a resurgence in 2019 after a career-worst campaign a year prior, establishing new high-water marks in home runs (19) and RBI (67) while slashing .238/.346/.409 over 574 plate appearances. His overall career body of work should buy him a certain amount of time if he stumbles out of the gates, but Saxon also points out Fowler is likely to have promising prospect Dylan Carlson looming over his shoulder with the high probability of expanded rosters being a component of any 2020 campaign.

Cardinals coach Willie McGee recently expressed confidence in Fowler's ability to up his performance once the regular season begins, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. "I don't count veterans out. Dexter, (Matt) Carpenter . . . I don't worry about their springs," McGee said. "They'll figure it out. They'll have to."

EDGE Analysis

The veteran outfielder had generated an unsightly .097 average (3-for-31) in 12 Grapefruit League games before play was paused, but McGee draws upon his own experiences as a player and his first-hand knowledge of Fowler's talent to make his assessment. McGee, whose current responsibilities include overseeing the big-league club's outfielders, notes he learned to focus much more on process and gradually increasing his frequency of hard-hit balls as his spring training slates unfolded. As such, he feels Fowler, who slugged 44 extra-base hits (24 doubles, one triple, 19 home runs) and posted the second-highest hard-contact rate of his career (37.4 percent) in 2019, can eventually flip the switch once the games start to count. The 34-year-old may need to do just that to keep a significant role, however, as the Cardinals have a plethora of talented young outfielders that could all be viable options for manager Mike Shildt this season if rosters are expanded significantly as expected.

Fowler, who was hitting .097 (3-for-31) across 12 Grapefruit League contests before spring training was suspended, could be benched early in the regular season if he continues struggling, Dan Buffa of KSDK.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Buffa uses Matt Carpenter's 2019 as a blueprint for what could unfold if Fowler doesn't demonstrate marked improvement at the plate once the regular season finally gets underway. A similarly accomplished veteran, Carpenter was nevertheless moved to a platoon role last season after struggling for an extended period and was frequently replaced with Tommy Edman, who was much more productive at the plate. Fowler doesn't have the defensive prowess at this stage of his career to keep him in the lineup through an extended slump, either. Buffa points out manager Mike Shildt and Fowler do have an excellent relationship, but that an array of more appealing options that includes the promising trio of Tyler O'Neill, Dylan Carlson and Lane Thomas should supersede any personal misgivings the Cardinals' skipper might have about demoting the soon-to-be 34-year-old outfielder.

Fowler is not in the lineup for Game 4 of the NLCS against the Nationals on Tuesday.

EDGE Analysis

Fowler is sitting for the first time this postseason after going 0-for-11 with one walk over the first three games of the NLCS. Harrison Bader is starting in center field, batting seventh.

Fowler went 2-for-3 with a home run, two walks and two RBI in Sunday's win over the Cubs.

EDGE Analysis

Fowler ended the regular season on a high note after entering the game in a 1-for-26 slide. He led off the first inning with a walk and came around to score the Cardinals' first run, then drilled a two-run homer to center field in the second frame. The 33-year-old concludes 2019 with a .238/.346/.409 slash line while setting career highs with 19 homers and 67 RBI in 150 games.

Fowler is not starting Wednesday against the Diamondbacks.

EDGE Analysis

Fowler will head to the bench for what appears to be a routine breather following Tuesday's 19-inning loss, during which he went 1-for-8 with a solo home run and five strikeouts. Jose Martinez is starting in right field and hitting second in place of Fowler in this one.

Fowler went 1-for-8 with a solo home run and five strikeouts in Tuesday's marathon loss to Arizona.

EDGE Analysis

Fowler led off the game with a solo home run but couldn't get anything going thereafter, striking out in five of his next seven plate appearances. He has now whiffed 19 times in his last 32 at-bats and has posted a paltry .183 batting average with 30 strikeouts across 82 at-bats in September.

Fowler went 2-for-5 with a two-run single in a win over the Cubs on Saturday.

EDGE Analysis

Fowler made a key contribution out of the leadoff role, with his fifth-inning single snapping a 3-3 tie at the time. The veteran outfielder has actually scuffled at the plate during the current month after a solid August, but perhaps his first multi-hit effort since Sept. 12 will boost his bat ahead of the final week of the regular season.