Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said Monday that he expects Kim (back) to miss 2-to-3 turns through the rotation before returning from the 10-day injured list, Zachary Silver of MLB.com reports.
Sidelined by a sore back for a good chunk of camp, Kim appears to have moved past the health concern at this point, but he's still in the process of building up for starting duties. Kim covered two innings Saturday against the Marlins in his spring debut, but the Cardinals likely want to see him to increase his pitch counts in two more simulated games before they're comfortable integrating him in the rotation, likely in mid-to-late April. Once Kim is ready to go, Daniel Ponce de Leon or John Gant will be the most likely candidates to lose out on a rotation spot.