Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said Sunday that he doesn't expect Hicks (elbow) to return from the 60-day injured list before the end of the season, but the right-hander could be cleared to pick up innings during winter ball, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
Hicks took an important step forward last week in his recovery from the right elbow injury that has kept him on the shelf since the beginning of May, as he was cleared to throw off a mound for the first time in more than four and a half months. Though Hicks finally looks to be progressing after his rehab program stalled out for much of the summer, the Cardinals aren't counting him on providing a late-season boost to the bullpen. If Hicks is able to test out his arm over the winter and avoids any further setbacks, he should head into spring training with few restrictions, if any.