St. Louis Cardinals third baseman David Freese will begin the season on the disabled list because of back problems, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Derrick Goold.
The Cardinals are exercising caution with Freese. Infielder Ryan Jackson will replace Freese on the roster.
Freese, 29, batted .293 with 20 homers in 144 games last season, and was the 2011 World Series MVP.
Fantasy Update: Freese was ranked as the 12th-best third baseman available in Lindy’s 2013 Fantasy Baseball Preview, but the back problems are a cause for concern. When healthy, Freese is a reliable stick that can provide solid numbers in the power and batting average categories. But due to the DL stint, he’ll likely slide on draft day. Don’t reach too high with Freese considering he’ll likely go undrafted in a lot of leagues.