President of baseball operations John Mozeliak recently said that Reyes (lat) has been making "continued steady progress with his throwing progression" as part of the Cardinals' instructional league program in Jupiter, Fla. this offseason, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Despite starting games for the big club in 2016 and 2018, Reyes retains prospect eligibility after a pair of season-ending injuries prevented him from cementing his spot in the St. Louis rotation. Reyes, who required surgery in early June to address a torn right lat, isn't expected to face any limitations this spring, though the Cardinals have yet to formally decide how or where he'll be used to open the season. The 24-year-old will presumably audition for a rotation gig with the big club, but as a means of monitoring his workload coming off injury, the Cardinals could deploy Reyes out of the bullpen or even send him to Triple-A Memphis once camp comes to a close. On a more fortunate note, any restrictions Reyes might face this season aren't likely to be overly significant, with Mozeliak relaying to Goold on Saturday that getting only 50 innings of relief from right-hander wouldn't be ideal for his development.