Carpenter has been battling a sore back in the early days of spring training and the Cardinals do not have a timetable for him to begin playing in Grapefruit League games at this time, theSt. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

EDGE Analysis

The early indications from Carpenter suggest that the injury is a minor one. While he's on the shelf during the early part of camp, Jose Martinez and Luke Voit are expected to collect extra reps at first base for the Cards. It is believed that the Cardinals are planning on using Carpenter at third base more frequently in 2018, provided that he's healthy, and that Martinez is hitting the way he did throughout his time in the big leagues last season.