Gregerson (oblique) played catch Tuesday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

EDGE Analysis

Gregerson is out for a week or two with an oblique injury and may not be ready by Opening Day. If he's not, Dominic Leone may start the year as the Cardinals' closer and could keep the job with strong early performances despite the fact that Gregerson was viewed as the pre-season favorite. If Gregerson continues to make positive progress, however, the situation will remain up in the air.

Gregerson (oblique) could be out another week or two, making it difficult for him to be ready for Opening Day, KMOX Radio reports.

EDGE Analysis

If Gregerson isn't ready to go, Cardinals GM John Mozeliak suggested that Dominic Leone would be the most likely option to close games out to start the season.

Gregerson is sidelined with what is being considered a mild oblique injury, Joe Trezza of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

The veteran reliever was scheduled to pitch Tuesday but didn't, and the reason why finally emerged. Gregerson did undergo an MRI and no one in the Cardinals' organization seems to be overly concerned about the issue, even though oblique injuries can keep players out for as long as a month in some cases if it isn't treated properly. Regardless, this will put him behind schedule compared to the rest of the pitchers in camp.

While Gregerson is the presumed favorite to close games for the Cardinals this season, the team may not name a closer by Opening Day, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. "It will define itself in time," manager Mike Matheny said of the closer role. "It's completely different this year, where we have a number of guys. Having a number of guys that could finish a game would be great."

EDGE Analysis

Gregerson remains the slight favorite, but Bud Norris had 19 saves for the Angels last year and Tyler Lyons has closed games for the Red Birds in the past. Dominic Leone's success last year with the Blue Jays, albeit not in a ninth-inning role, also makes him a somewhat viable candidate. The main takeaway is that people shouldn't be paying true closer prices for any of these guys in drafts right now. Hopefully one of them will emerge in spring training as the clear top option, but as Matheny said, the team may be fine going into the season with a committee to close games.

President of baseball operations John Mozeliak said Saturday that Gregerson is the Cardinals' closer "as of today," Derrick Goold of the St. Loius Post-Dispatch reports.

EDGE Analysis

Mozeliak added that the team will "throw numbers" at the bullpen and Tyler Lyons will play a "huge" role, but Gregerson is the top option currently on the roster. Gregerson earned 46 saves with the Astros from 2015-16, but he struggled with the long ball last year, allowing 13 home runs in 61 innings. If he opens the regular season in the closer role, Gregerson will be on a short leash.

Gregerson agreed to a two-year, $11 million deal with the Cardinals on Sunday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

Gregerson posted a sub-3.50 ERA in each of his first eight major-league seasons but took a step back in 2017 as he accumulated a 4.57 ERA over 61 innings of relief with the Astros. His regression was mainly attributable to the fact that he struggled to keep the ball in the park, posting a career-high 23.6 percent HR/FB rate. He'll likely mix in as a middle reliever for the Cardinals in 2018.

Gregerson (hand) allowed one run on one hit in one inning Sunday against the Angels.

EDGE Analysis

Gregerson was hit on the hand by a liner Wednesday night, but the issue was never thought to be anything overly serious and he returned to action after getting a few days off to rest and recover. In his first game back, the reliever conceded a solo homer to Justin Upton in an otherwise clean inning. He'll continue to serve as a one of the Astros' setup men for Ken Giles down the stretch.

X-rays on Gregerson's left hand came back negative, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports.

EDGE Analysis

Gregerson was hit on the hand by a comebacker in the eighth inning Wednesday night, and while he was able to stay in the game and strike out the next batter, the Astros sent him for some precautionary tests afterwards. Everything checked out, and manager A.J. Hinch said "he's fine" when asked about the reliever, so it doesn't sound like he'll miss much, if any, time at all.

Gregerson closed out the final 1.1 innings, striking out one to pick up his first save of the season in Tuesday's 6-2 win over the Mariners.

EDGE Analysis

Gregerson bailed out James Hoyt and Reymin Guduan in the eighth inning, stranding two runners when he struck out Nelson Cruz. He went on to pitch a perfect ninth inning to record the save. It's encouraging to see Gregerson being used in high-leverage situations again. Since his ERA inflated to 8.49 on May 4, Gregerson has a 1.75 ERA with 34 strikeouts over 25.2 innings.

Gregerson pitched a scoreless two-thirds of an inning in Saturday's 7-6 win over the Yankees.

EDGE Analysis

With several starters hurt over the past month and the fill-ins unable to give the Astros consistent length, the strain on Houston's bullpen has started to show some cracks. On Saturday, it was Will Harris giving up a grand slam. Gregerson entered after Harris to settle things down. It was Gregerson's 14th scoreless appearances in his last 15, a stretch in which he's struck out 20, walked five and posted a 1.20 ERA over 15 innings. He's more than halved his season ERA, down to 4.09 after it had been 8.49 in early May. It might be time that he re-enters the picture for setup work.