St. Louis Cardinals: Adam Wainwright injury blessing disguise for Redbirds

The injury of Adam Wainwright might be a blessing in disguise for the St. Louis Cardinals; giving a young arm a chance to shine in his absence.

In back to back days, the St. Louis Cardinals were dealt blows to their starting rotation; with both their No.2 starter and closer plagued with hamstring injuries to begin the 2018 campaign.

Adam Wainwright and Luke Gregerson will both begin the season on the Disabled List; thining out the depth of an already shallow pitching staff — one who saw Lance Lynn taking his talents to the Twin Cities with the Minnesota Twins.

Now, St. Louis Cardinals turn to Jack Flaherty, a youngster who showed a bit of promise in 2017 and the No.3 rookie eligible prospect for the Cards according to Call to the Pen’s rankings. Primarily in Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis. After the final cuts, Mike Matheny and company optioned Flaherty to Memphis, but this latest development gives the hard-throwing righty a chance to earn a permanent stay with the Birds on the Bat.

Matheny caught up with the Cardinal’s MLB.com expert Joe Trezza following today’s Spring training action, revealing the conversation he had with the young pitcher earlier last week.

“Go get ready. “There is no question that if an opportunity jumped up, we’ll be in very good hands.”

Flaherty’s reaction today was rather amusing when Matheny revealed his reaction to the news of taking Waino’s spot in the rotation.

He thought I was lying,”

Ready or not Flaherty, here it comes — your opportunity to earn a permanent job at the MLB level. No pressure or anything…

Until Wainwright’s return, here’s how the Redbird’s starting core will shape up in his absence.

Initially, Matheny had Wainwright plugged into the No.2 spot so that the veteran Cardinals pitcher would be the one taking the ball during the home-opener at Busch Stadium — a class act decision if you ask me. Michael Wacha will now move up to Wainwright’s spot, with Jack Flaherty as the No. 5 pitcher in the rotation.

It’s unfortunate that Wainwright won’t be able to take the bump on a day that means so much to the fans of Cardinals Nation, but there’s always a silver lining(‘s playbook).

Adam Wainwright was a question market to begin with, so a hamstring injury isn’t a major derailment to anything at this point.

But it’s an early reminder that the Cardinals very intentionally built a pitching staff with very little dependable depth.
— Justin Striebel (@jstriebel22) March 25, 2018

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But, long-term, this may just be a blessing in disguise for the Cardinals, who are looking for more reliable pitchers at the big league level. With an array of young talent lying in wait in Memphis, who boasted one of the best seasons in Minor League Baseball in 2017, their time may be now under the big lights of MLB.

Flaherty’s displayed greatness in Springfield and Memphis — with a 14-4 record. An ERA of 2.18 and WHIP of 1.04 in 148.2 innings pitched last season. However, that success did not translate to the big league level, where the youngster was hit around a bit in his six appearances.

If Flaherty shows he can hang at the MLB level as the No. 5 starter, the Cardinals will be able to plug Wainwright into the middle relief role — which would be a nice compliment to Tyler Lyons. At this point in his career, Wainwright is more suited for a position of 3-5 innings per appearance, with his fastball nowhere near where it was in times past.

Next: Luke Voit ne Seds to be the first baseman of the future in STL

The new look St. Louis Cardinals will need to rely on youth for their critical pitching roles in 2018; with Jack Flaherty as contestant No.1. Come on down, Jack! Hopefully, it’s an extended stay in St. Louis for you!

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