The St. Louis Cardinals announced on Thursday that ace starter Carlos Martinez would hit the disabled list. What will they do?
The St. Louis Cardinals have powered to a slim first-place lead in the National League Central behind excellent work from their starting rotation, but ace Carlos Martinez has been absolutely incredible, making 8 starts on the year, throwing 50 innings with a 1.62 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and a 22/47 BB/K ratio. On Thursday, the Cardinals announced that Martinez would head to the disabled list with a right lat strain.
Martinez’s injury
Carlos Martinez had arguably his worst outing on Tuesday against the Twins, as the St. Louis Cardinals saw their ace allow four runs in five innings, earning him just his second loss of 2018.
Eric Cressy wrote an incredible article describing why putting a date on lat strains is a difficult proposition. The biggest issue that St. Louis Cardinals fans should worry about is that lat issues typically recur until the offseason when they can be rested and have time to truly rehabilitate. In other words, this could be a horrid situation of recurring injuries for Martinez in 2018 beginning right now.
Let’s hope it’s not.
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What do the St. Louis Cardinals do now?
The easy answer for the Cardinals is that you cannot replace Carlos Martinez. The Cardinals do have a good farm system full of talented arms that can help fill in while Martinez is out, however.
Jack Flaherty is the most likely to take Martinez’s spot. Flaherty had a big game on Wednesday night for AAA Memphis, He tossed 6 2/3 innings of 2 run ball without a walk and struck out 13 hitters.
Right now, Adam Wainwright could be in line to make his first start back in the next time the rotation spot for Carlos Martinez comes up, which will likely keep John Gant in the rotation as Gant was pitching in Wainwright’s spot.
One thought for consideration is that Alex Reyes made his first start back from Tommy John on Wednesday night. He won’t be ready for a while to take a rotation spot. He did throw well in the Florida State League in his first rehab start, however, touching 99 MPH as he threw 3 1/3 innings and struck out 6.
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With both Carlos Martinez and Yadier Molina out for extended time, the St. Louis Cardinals will be hoping both get back as soon as possible.