ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - Albert Pujols is making progress toward returning to the St. Louis Cardinals' lineup from a broken left wrist.
Pujols had a CT scan on Friday.
"He got the test and he's working," St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said before Saturday night's game at Tampa Bay. "I'm just really pleased with a lot of good news on that front."
The Cardinals have said that Pujols is expected back sometime after the All-Star break and late July.
La Russa wouldn't speculate on when Pujols might return, but thinks the first baseman could be back ahead of time. Pujols was originally projected to miss four to six weeks.
Pujols was hurt during a game on June 19 trying to make a tag after taking an offline throw from second baseman Pete Kozma and the Royals' Wilson Betemit collided with the glove hand.
Pujols was able to return quickly from his two other stints on the DL. He was sidelined from June 4-21, 2006, with a strained right oblique, and sat out June 11-25, 2008, due to a left calf strain.
"His conditioning," La Russa said. "He really works hard at keeping himself in shape. He's just a very tough guy."