The St. Louis Cardinals have received an unfortunate injury blow. Infielder JJ Wetherholt has been placed on the 10-day injured list with right wrist tendinitis. 

In a corresponding move they recalled Cesar Prieto from Triple-A ahead of facing the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday. 

Wetherholt will be seeing a specialist in Arizona. While both Wetherholt and the Cardinals are hoping that it will be a minor IL stint, they won't know until he is further evaluated. 

The 23-year-old has been experiencing discomfort in his wrist for the past month and while he's tried to work through the injury and avoid an IL stint, the pain has amplified over the last few days.

JJ Wetherholt's injury spoils his chances in NL Rookie of the Year race

Wetherholt was a front-runner in the National League Rookie of the Year race alongside Sal Stewart, who is now the clear favorite with Wetherholt sidelined. Stewart broke the Cincinnati Reds franchise record for the most RBI (101) by a rookie on Aug. 28. Other candidates for NL ROY include Jackson Chourio, Carson Benge and Nolan McLean. 

Prior to the injury, Wetherholt was sporting a .242 batting average with 17 home runs, 48 RBI, 14 stolen bases and a .713 OPS. The shortstop/second baseman has also logged a 4.6 bWAR. 

Wetherholt landing on the shelf adds to a long list of injuries for the Cardinals, including Blaze Jordan, Andre Pallante and Everson Pereira.