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Although he is on the injured list and has not played in a major league game this year, getting dealt was something Tommy Edman knew was a possibility.

The utilityman and former Gold Glove Award winner considered what he saw in 2022, when teammate Harrison Bader was traded to the New York Yankees ahead of that summer’s trade deadline despite being on the IL.

That possibility became a reality for Edman on Monday when he was sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers as a part of a three-team deal that brought Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Erick Fedde and outfielder Tommy Pham to St. Louis.

“It’s been a very abrupt ending, which is strange after having been here for eight years,” said Edman, who stood in front of his emptied locker in the Cardinals clubhouse at Busch Stadium. “But I understand it’s a business. I understand that you’ve got to win ballgames, and currently, as I am right now, I’m on the injured list. I’m not helping the team win games.

“From that aspect, I mean, I certainly don’t take anything personally at all. Everybody’s treated me incredibly well here. But yeah, it is a little weird getting traded while on the injured list. But you know, it’s happened before, so I’m not necessarily surprised by it.”

A sixth-round draft pick by the Cardinals in 2016, Edman made his MLB debut with the big club in 2019 and quickly became one of the team’s more consistent contributors. Edman batted .265 with a .727 OPS in 596 games, won a Gold Glove as a second baseman in 2021 and appeared at six different defensive positions.

After showing in 2023 that his defensive skills could translate to being a full-time center fielder, Edman positioned himself to begin the 2024 season as the Cardinals’ starting center fielder. But offseason surgery on his right wrist kept him sidelined for all of spring training and into the regular season.

Once he ramped up his hitting progression, an ankle injury he sustained while turning double plays in late June paused his progression and delayed his start for a rehab assignment until early July.

He appeared in eight rehab games as a designated hitter for Class AA Springfield (Missouri) and neared his first appearance in the field. But with the Cardinals looking to add a starter and a right-handed-hitting outfielder, Edman was moved and will join the Dodgers, who play Tuesday and Wednesday in San Diego.

“It’ll be a transition, for sure,” Edman said. “It’s going to be a lot different. Meeting a whole new group of people will be a little bit overwhelming, I’m sure at first, but I’ve heard a lot of great things about the guys over there. I’m excited to get to know them all.”

Looking back at this time with the Cardinals, Edman pointed to some of his walk-off hits and the multiple playoff appearances as the moments that stick with him.

Edman appeared in 15 postseason games as the Cardinals reached the playoffs in each season from 2019 to 2022. As a rookie in 2019, Edman played in all five games during the National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves and went 6 for 19 (.316).

When he makes his return to the field, Edman said he wasn’t sure at what position he will play, considering the Dodgers have searched for a solution at center field and at shortstop with Mookie Betts on the IL.

Or who it might come against, considering the Dodgers will travel to St. Louis for a three-game series beginning on Aug. 16.

“It’ll be crazy if that lines up like that — the first game with the Dodgers (being) here, but we’ll see what happens with that. I’m not sure what’s going to happen yet,” Edman said.

Hjerpe, Roby injury updates

Cardinals prospect Cooper Hjerpe will go the next two weeks without throwing before beginning a progression program, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said on Monday. Hjerpe, the Cardinals’ first-round draft pick in 2022, has been on the IL because of an elbow injury that forced him to exit a start on July 2 with Class AA Springfield after completing two innings.

Mozeliak described the imaging done on the 23-year-old’s left elbow as “encouraging.”

• Right-handed pitching prospect Tekoah Roby, acquired by the Cardinals at last year’s trade deadline, is expected to accelerate his throwing program. Roby, 22, has been on the IL because of a shoulder injury since the middle of May. He logged 33⅓ innings with Springfield before being sidelined.

Extra bases

Riley O’Brien (right forearm flexor strain) completed two-thirds of an inning and allowed one run and one hit in a rehab appearance for Class AAA Memphis on Sunday.

• Former Cardinals catcher Andrew Knizner was optioned from the Rangers’ active roster ahead of Monday’s series opener in St. Louis. That cleared a spot for another former Cardinals catcher, Carson Kelly, whom the Rangers acquired from Detroit.
• St. Louis-area native and Mizzou product Max Scherzer is listed as the Rangers’ probable starter for Tuesday’s game.