VERO BEACH, Fla. -- Jim Edmonds remains puzzled by a condition that has left his right forearm numb in places and painful in others, but he also remains in the Cardinals lineup.

An MRI exam on Edmonds' arm revealed some inflammation in his right elbow, but the center fielder said that Dr. George Paletta cleared him to continue playing. According to Paletta, Edmonds said, the arm is in no jeopardy of worsening.

So Edmonds keeps playing, and on Thursday he rapped an RBI single and made a fine defensive play.

"They did say it was inflamed around the nerve, and that's what I'm getting, is some numbness," Edmonds said. "I can't feel my forearm. That's all. It's just inflamed around the nerve and the muscle. It's really tolerable, and it's getting better, it's just not as good as what I hoped to have."

Manager Tony La Russa has no plans to hold Edmonds out as long as the training and medical staffs continue to clear the slugger to keep playing.

"He has a little tweak from training or whatever it is, a little inflammation," said La Russa, "but he's playable."

Edmonds said the condition is gradually getting better, and he has noticed significant improvement since he stopped trying to treat the pain with ice.

Mateo returned: Right-hander Juan Mateo was returned to the Cubs on Thursday. The Cardinals selected Mateo, 23, from Chicago in the Rule 5 Draft last December. He arrived in camp late due to problems procuring his work visa, and it quickly became clear he would not crack the Cardinals bullpen.

"Wish he had been here the whole camp," said La Russa. "Who knows what could have happened? But he wasn't."

The Cardinals paid $50,000 for the right to pluck Mateo from Chicago's system. To retain him, they would have either had to keep him on the 25-man Major League roster all season long or work out a trade with the Cubs. When they offered him back, Chicago had to pay $25,000 to bring the pitcher back into the fold.

"We were interested in keeping him," La Russa said, "but those discussions didn't go anywhere."

Mateo appeared in two "A" games, pitching 1 2/3 innings without allowing a run, a hit or a walk.

J-Rod rolling: After a painful start -- literally -- John Rodriguez has turned his spring around. The outfielder battled shoulder soreness early in camp, and it showed up in his results.

Lately, however, he's hitting the ball better, and perhaps more important, getting more at-bats. Rodriguez has reached base in each of his past five starts. Since March 16, he's 6-for-16 (.375) with two doubles, six runs, five walks and two strikeouts.

"When your mind isn't in the game, and it's thinking about other things, that's when you start to sidetrack," Rodriguez said. "I wasn't really focused. I was just trying to battle through the injury and try to make the best of it, to see if I could play through it.

"I had a couple of days off, they did some treatment, I started to feel better and now the pain is going away. I don't think about it anymore. I think about going back to what I did last year, feeling comfortable, feeling confident."

It became a nerve-wracking situation for Rodriguez, who is not guaranteed to make the Cardinals.

"I was hoping that they did see what I did last year, knowing that I can hit," he said. "But starting slow was a headache for me. You start to worry. But hopefully now things are starting to come together and I can move forward."

La Russa allowed that he is inclined to chalk up some of Rodriguez's slow start to the injury.

"The shoulder probably was the reason why he had some funny swings," he said. "He's looked more like himself."

Suppan recovers: Thursday's game had an inauspicious beginning for starter Jeff Suppan. The righty allowed a leadoff double that came around to score, and five of the first 10 batters against him reached base. Edmonds stole a home run from J.D. Drew when he reached over the center-field wall for a third-inning catch.

From there, though, Suppan recovered beautifully. He retired the last 11 batters he faced and finished with two runs on four hits in six full innings. He's the first Cardinal to last six innings this spring.

"I thought that was a good, positive game," he said. "I pitched with what I had, like a normal game. I struggled a little bit with the cutter. I was stubborn and kept trying to throw it early in the game, but then the rest of the game [it was] sinker, curveball, changeup."

Suppan's next game will be March 27 at home against the Nationals.

Bits and pieces: Rather than pitching in a simulated game in St. Louis, Suppan's April 2 appearance will come in a Minor League game in Florida. His next appearance after that will come in his season debut, Friday, April 7, at Chicago. ... So Taguchi and Hector Luna were both scratched from the trip to Vero, not out of health concerns but simply to give them each a day off. ... Scott Spiezio is 7-for-41 (.171) since a 5-for-8 start. ... The Cardinals are 9-3-1 in their last 13 spring games.

Quotable: "He's a good student of the game, of pitching, of competing against hitters. He's got a good delivery. He keeps his arm healthy. He's got a lot of things going for him." -- La Russa, on Suppan

Weather report: Friday should once again be a bit cooler in Jupiter. The forecast calls for a game-time temperature of 73 degrees, a high of 74, some clouds and healthy winds.

Coming up: It's a matchup of a two-time Cy Young winner against the reigning award holder, as well as Opening Day starter vs. Opening Day starter, on Friday afternoon. Chris Carpenter takes the mound for St. Louis against Tom Glavine and the Mets at 12:05 p.m. CT at Roger Dean Stadium.