(Image Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports)

Every baseball player wants to go out on his own terms, to end the career he has pursued since boyhood at a time of his own choosing in a manner he would prefer, but really, very few manage to do so. Careers end abruptly every day.

A player who hopes to be drafted by a Major League team and is not, gets the word in a harsh manner, by his name being left off a list. A one-year Class A player doesn’t have his contract renewed. No room in the organization for you son. It happens to AA players, to AAA players, who have to believe they are so close to the Show and then get cut.

Same for those who have a cup of coffee in the majors and even those who become stars. One day nobody wants their signature on a new deal and they have no team to join in spring training. What happened to Chris Carpenter is just as bad, if not worse. One minute he was the ace of the St. Louis Cardinals’ pitching staff and then he gets hurt and instead of getting well finds out that he probably can’t ever throw hard enough again to do more than practice with his son’s Little League team.

In early February it was announced that Carpenter would not be able to pitch for St. Louis during the 2013 season. This is on the heels of his being unable to pitch for St. Louis during the 2012 season except for a few cameo appearances. That makes for two straight years basically out of the mix. Soon after the word seeped out that the numbness and pain in Carpenter’s shoulder likely means he will never pitch again. The diagnosis of nerve damage has essentially ended his career.

That’s tough news to take and it is almost certain that Carpenter refused to believe it at first. Career-ending injuries are often sudden, but this one seems to have snuck up on the hurler. After missing almost the entire 2012 season Carpenter came back to pitch late in the season. That certainly hinted that he had recovered and would be ready to go in 2013. Which is what made his departure so surprising.

Carpenter, a 15-year major leaguer, has a lifetime record of 144-94 with a 3.76 earned run average and was a three-time All-Star. It was so long ago that Carpenter pitched for the Toronto Bluejays it’s amazing to recall that he spent six years with that club. He was much better in just his Cardinals years and twice was on a World Series champion with St. Louis. In 2005, Carpenter went 21-5. In 2009, he finished 17-4. With him in the rotation at full strength, the Cardinals would have been much more formidable this season than without him.

It is a disappointing end to a very solid career, for sure, and it would be neat if the hopeless situation found a solution. This is probably not practical, or even the answer, but maybe Carpenter can take knuckleball lessons from R.A. Dickey. But although Carpenter had no intention of retiring otherwise, he is 37, so barring miracles this really is the end of the line.

Chris Carpenter is still feeling numbness during his bullpen sessions and may never pitch again. (Image Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports)

Carpenter made just three starts for the Cardinals last season before needing to be shut down after the discovery of thoracic outlet syndrome. He’d undergo surgery and miss the remainder of the season, though he did return to make three more starts for the team during their playoff run. He’s also missed significant time during the 2007 and 2008 seasons. Otherwise he’s been one of the top pitchers in the National League since the Cardinals signed him following the 2003 season, another one he missed to injury. Carpenter made 198 starts with St. Louis, going 95-44 with a 3.07 ERA and 1.125 WHIP while finishing in the top three in Cy Young Award voting three times, including winning the award in 2005.

St. Louis twice won the World Series with Carpenter in their rotation. He was 3-0 in his four WS starts.

It goes without saying that Cardinals fans everywhere are distraught over the loss of Carpenter – a man who’s led the pitching staff for the past nine seasons. Carpenter was a leader in the clubhouse and a leader on the field. His value to the franchise goes beyond the dollars he earned in his career as he’s arguably the greatest Cardinals starter since Bob Gibson tormented the National League. Carpenter was only signed for one more season, so Cardinals fans knew that the time was coming near that his career would come to an end. They just thought there was more time, as Marilyn Green summarized at Redbird Rants:

I knew it would come sooner or later, but I envisioned being eased into it, kind of like the Chipper Jones Farewell Tour of 2012, only with more testosterone. Just one more season for Reds fans to hate on him, so we could all mock them and tell them they wish he was on their team. Just one more season with both Carpenter and Wainwright, co-pitching aces extraordinaire.

Numerous reports suggested shortly after the team’s press conference that Carpenter will “consider his options” in the coming months but is likely to retire. He will wait until the end of the season (and the team will let him) to formalize the announcement, as retiring now would mean he’d forfeit the $12.5 Million he is scheduled to earn. Most of that figure is believed to be insured, so the Cardinals will not be on the hook for the entirety of that figure.

Carpenter informed team officials that he was still feeling numbness and discomfort in his shoulder during some recent bullpen sessions. Nerve damage has made it so he simply cannot throw anymore.

Initial reaction to the news was just as expected – assumptions that the team would re-sign Kyle Lohse considering the free agent is surprisingly still available with Spring Training just a week away – but Mozeliak quickly diverted around such suggestions, though he didn’t rule out an outside addition. The Cardinals feel they have the depth to withstand such a loss and will have a true battle in Spring Training for the final spot in the rotation. Adam Wainwright, Jaime Garcia, Jake Westbrook, and Lance Lynn will fill out the front four spots. Either Trevor Rosenthal or Shelby Miller will win the 5th spot.

The St. Louis Cardinals survived the weekend in Los Angeles with their lead in the National League Wild Card race intact. Now, if all goes well in the next couple of days, it looks like they’ll get some much-needed help in the form of right hander Chris Carpenter.

September 4, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter (29) throws a bullpen session to hitters before the game against the New York Mets at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO. Carpenter had surgery in July to repair a nerve issue in his shoulder. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-US PRESSWIRE

Carpenter threw a five inning, 93-pitch simulated game on Saturday afternoon at Dodger Stadium, just three months after undergoing surgery to relieve thoracic outlet syndrome, a condition that weakens the shoulder. Carpenter displayed good velocity and better command that he showed in a simulated game last week.

The key date now is Friday, that’s the day the former Cy Young winner will make his season debut versus the Chicago Cubs. Saturday was the fourth time Carpenter had thrown to hitters while attempting to make it back before the end of the season. As Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Dispatch notes, without the rehab, Carpenter would be considerably further behind in his throwing program, but the hard work has paid off.

 ”I’ve really pushed through this to get to where I need to be to see if I can get back,” (Carpenter) said. “Am I at my peak? No. Do I feel good? Yes. I feel like my command is good. I feel I’m stronger. Mechanically, I’m more in time.”

The Cardinals open a three game series with the Astros on Tuesday. Houston is the worst team in baseball, but have enjoyed playing spoiler this past weekend; taking three of four for the Philadelphia Phillies. St. Louis holds a one-game lead on the Dodgers for the second NL Wild Card spot and a two-and-a-half game lead over Milwaukee.

Carpenter was 11-9 with a 3.45 ERA in 2011. If he pitches every fifth game for the Cardinals the rest of the way, he would in line to make a total of three starts this season. The Wild Card Game is scheduled for October 5, if the rotation holds form, Carpenter would be on three days rest for that game.

Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-US PRESSWIRE

The last four games notwithstanding, the Cardinal starting rotation has fared well without Carpenter’s services this season thanks to the return of Adam Wainwright and an All-Star effort from Lance Lynn, who pitched mostly out of the bullpen a year ago. As a whole, St. Louis starters rank third in all of baseball with 14.1 combined WAR and second in FIP with a mark of 3.48.

While penciling a fully healthy Carpenter — who has an impressive 95-42 record with a 3.06 ERA in his tenure with the Cardinals — into a rotation that has started to show signs of wear and tear would indeed be helpful, it seems highly improbable a pitcher who has yet to appear in an actual game of any kind since the 2011 World Series could be expected to just show up in September and pitch effectively, especially for a team still vying for a possible playoff berth.

Considering the 2005 NL Cy Young winner is not even two months removed from a surgical operation that involved taking out a portion of his rib cage, the team may be better off protecting him for the remainder of the season and ensuring he’s as ready to go as someone with his injury history can possibly be for next season.

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Brett Gardner and Chris Carpenter will likely both be out the remainder of the season due to surgery. (Brad Barr-US PRESSWIRE)

starter, but an issue with his neck landed him on the disabled list early.  Brett Gardner did see some regular season action this year, but he quickly found himself on the DL as well.  Now, it seems both will be lost for the rest of 2012.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Chris Carpenter has had right shoulder surgery to repair the nerve running up to his neck causing him pain.  The Cardinals have said Carpenter should be able to complete his rehab by the start of the off-season and can have a normal off-season.  He is expected to return healthy in 2013.

Carpenter was 11-9 with a 3.45 ERA in 2011 and helped the Cardinals win the World Series.  He was on the mound in Game Seven.  As improbable as the Cardinals’ run was last year, it couldn’t have happened without Carpenter.  He had an even 2.00 ERA in two starts in the World Series.

Brett Gardner played in nine games before injuring his elbow.  He last played on April 17th when he injured himself making a diving play in the outfield.  The injury was originally diagnosed as a bone bruise.  However, Gardner couldn’t quite shake the pain.  He reinjured the elbow in a rehab assignment while stealing a base.  Now, Gardner is scheduled to have arthroscopic surgery to repair inflamed tissue in the right elbow.  The surgery is expected to keep Gardner out the rest of the season according to ESPN New York’s Jeff Fletcher.

Gardner struggled last season but was off to a hot start this year.  He was hitting .321/.424/.393 before his injury.  The Yankees have used a combination of Andruw Jones and Raul Ibanez in the outfield to fill the gap left by Garnder and both have performed admirably.  The Yankees seem content with what they have, but there are available options on the trade market that may catch the team’s eye.

For more on the Yankees, be sure to check out Yanks Go Yard. 

Chris Carpenter is expected to start throwing off a mound later this week. (Scott Rovak-US PRESSWIRE)

Carpenter started throwing from flat ground last month, and the team says his progress has been very positive.  He is now ready to make the next step in his rehab and recovery.  The Cardinals have not yet released the exact day Carpenter will start throwing bullpen sessions or how many pitches he will be allowed to throw, but it is expected to start later this week.

The injury was diagnosed during Spring Training of this year and Carpenter was initially placed on the 15-day disabled list.  It became apparent quickly though that Carpenter would miss more time than originally thought.

Carpenter was 11-9 last year with a 3.45 ERA.  He came on strong toward the end of the year and helped the Cardinals close the gap between themselves and the Braves.  The Cardinals would end up making the play-offs and went on to win the World Series.  Carpenter was 4-0 in the 2011 play-offs including two wins in the World Series.

This season, the Cardinals got off to a hot start despite missing their ace and watching Adam Wainwright struggle.  They’ve fallen of since then.  Currently, St. Louis is 31-31, three games back of first place.  The team hopes to get Carpenter back soon so they can turn things around.

Carpenter is excited to move forward with his rehab:

“It’s one thing to throw in the outfield and another to get on a mound and throw on a downward plane,” he said. “I know I can throw long toss. Now we have to find out about the other.”

Carpenter has had setbacks on the road to recovery, so the Cardinals are cautiously optimistic about his progress.  However, Carpenter is moving in the right direction.

Mar 12, 2012; Jupiter, FL. USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher

He’s still a long way back, so he isn’t going to be activated any time soon even though it has been 60 days and he can be reactivated at any time. It means more Lance Lynn, but that’s something we can all deal with given how well he’s pitched this year. He’s no Carpenter, but I’m sure nobody is going to complain about the job Lynn has done this year.

In more impactful news, the St. Louis Cardinals have optioned utility player Steve Hill to Triple-A and purchased the contract of right-hander Joe Kelly from Triple-A. The move to demote Hill is to allow Kelly to make his Major League debut today against the Cleveland Indians, who were shut down by Kyle Lohse and the Cardinals yesterday.

Kelly isn’t exactly a strikeout artist, but that’s because he is a sinker-baller who gets a lot of grounders and keeps it in the park. He’s not a bad pitcher and has a 2.86 ERA in Triple-A this year in just over 70 innings. Kelly gets a lot of movement on his sinker, and it’s the reason why he should be successful at least early on this season. Hitters will adjust to him, but he should have some early success.

The thing is that Kelly, who also possesses a nice slider to go with that very good sinker, is a better reliever than starter. Last year’s third rounder won’t do terrible in replacing the injured Jaime Garcia, but Cardinals fans shouldn’t hope for Lynn-like replacing. Still, Kelly could impress with a lot to prove, such as his future as a starter or set-up man at the MLB level. Here’s to hoping he succeeds with that sinker of his.

Steve Hill can play at first, catcher, or as a corner outfielder, but he isn’t exactly a good player and his main asset is that versatility. In over two weeks with the club, Hill managed to get only seven at-bats. So far at Triple-A Memphis, he has a .303 OBP this year but has shown some decent power with four homers and a .471 slugging percentage.

Follow Joe Soriano on Twitter here. Check out Redbird Rants for more on your St. Louis Cardinals.

June 2, 2012; Flushing, NY,USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Lance Lynn (31) pitches during the first inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE

In this piece, St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said, ”We haven’t put the long-term game plan together yet. We have to maximize the here and now. We’ve talked about how (we could) make adjustments. Our GM was running after Oswalt. That was something that he was seriously trying to make happen. There has been a lot of moving parts to what could happen. We’re not being blind to the fact that it’s considerably different to what he’s done in the past.”

The Cardinals will not move Lynn into the bullpen, after pitching in 109.2 innings in the Majors and in Triple-A last season and 68.1 this season. At this rate, he is on pace to eclipse 200 innings and would get to nearly 160 if given 25 starts. He has a 3.16 FIP after posting a 2.88 FIP in just 34.2 Major League innings last season, and Lance Lynn has looked the part in the Cardinals rotation.

In other news concerning the team, offseason acquisition Scott Linebrink was scheduled to throw a bullpen session yesterday. He is still weeks away from returning, and his absence has definitely hurt the Cardinals shaky pen that currently lacks stability due to a few key injuries. Linebrink was expected to take the mound in some high-leverage situations as well. The good news is that, if there are no setbacks, Linebrink could join the team before the All-Star break due to recent progress.

Follow Joe Soriano on Twitter here. Check out Redbird Rants for more on your St. Louis Cardinals.

Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-US PRESSWIRE

Carpenter, a former Cy Young winner and member of the Cardinal rotation since 2004, was originally diagnosed with a bulging disk in his neck early in spring training, but when the nerve irritation spread to his shoulder, he was shut down indefinitely. The St. Louis rotation has handled his loss smoothly thanks to the surprising performance of Lance Lynn. Despite the rotation’s strong showing in 2012 (as a whole, it ranks third in baseball with its collective 5.6 WAR), the bullpen situation has been unexpectedly shaky, and Carpenter’s return would allow the Cardinals to move Lynn back to relief work to reinforce that weakness.

Whatever the Cardinals have planned for Carpenter’s return, it will still be a long wait at this point. If Carpenter continues to pass all subsequent throwing tests free of pain, he will eventually need a short rehab stint in the minors to get game ready. Even ahead of schedule, it’s still extremely unlikely that Carpenter will make his first major league start of 2012 before the All-Star break.

By no means does this development guarantee the road to recovery will be a smooth journey. Carpenter experienced nerve issues that ended his season in 2004 as well as in 2008, so further complications are still possible and expectations are best kept under control for now. For the struggling Cardinals, however, this is still encouraging news.

Can’t get enough of Spencer? Check out his work at StanGraphs and follow him on Twitter at @shendricks221.