The St. Louis Cardinals have known for a week that shortstop Jhonny Peralta will miss the first few months of the season with a thumb injury. There has been no rush to find a quick fix, and you can expect Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak to be thoughtful and cautious in his approach, writes Peter Gammons.

As for internal options, prospect Aledmys Diaz has been the primary shortstop in Grapefruit League games of late and it appears the Cardinals are giving the 25-year-old the "first crack" at the job, reports ESPN's Mark Saxon.

Diaz, who has five seasons of professional baseball in Cuba on his resume, is hitting .259 with a .333 OBP in 27 spring at-bats through Sunday.

Manager Mike Matheny refused to tab Diaz as the front-runner, but one option would have him sharing the job with veteran Jedd Gyorko, who was acquired in a December deal with San Diego.

Erick Aybar of the Atlanta Braves has been mentioned as a logical fit, with one executive telling ESPN’s Jayson Stark last week that the Braves "will trade anyone but Freddie Freeman."

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reported Sunday that Nick Ahmed of the Arizona Diamondbacks is one of the shortstops on the Cardinals’ radar. The D-backs added Jean Segura late in the offseason, which would make Ahmed expendable, but there is some speculation that Ahmed stays at shortstop with Segura moving to second base.

The Mets’ Ruben Tejada is another veteran option, but New York may be less willing to deal after starting shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera was shut down last week with a strained patella tendon.

Another ripple effect of Peralta’s injury will be felt at the back end of the roster, where versatile infielder Jacob Wilson may have a better chance of going north with the club, writes MLB.com’s Jamal Collier. Wilson hit just .230 in the minors last season, but the Cardinals like that he can play all four infield positions and left field.