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John Denton from MLB.com is reporting that Adam Wainwright will start the season on the IL after suffering a groin injury during a training session at the World Baseball Classic.
#STLCards manager Oli Marmol said RHP Adam Wainwright strained his groin during a weight room workout on Tuesday prior to the WBC championship game.
— John Denton (@JohnDenton555) March 23, 2023
Marmol said Wainwright will likely miss “several weeks.”
Wainwright had been set to start Opening Day in what is expected to be his final season in the majors.
There is no word at this time on who will replace Wainwright for the Opening Day start. It seems likely that either Miles Mikolas or Jack Flaherty would get the nod.
#STLCards manager Oli Marmol said Adam Wainwright’s groin strain opens up a starting opportunity for RHP Jake Woodford.
— John Denton (@JohnDenton555) March 23, 2023
Woodford, who made strides this with the shape of his slider after working with pitching coach Dusty Blake, will likely take Waino’s spot in the rotation.
Meanwhile, it appears that Jake Woodford will take Wainwright’s spot in the rotation. After falling out of favor last season, Woodford followed the club’s action plan, working on his slider and adding velocity. The results have shown this spring. Woodford has a 2.04 ERA this spring with more strikeouts than innings pitched.
John Denton also reported that Rule 5 acquisition Wilking Rodriguez was heading to the IL:
#STLCards manager Oli Marmol said reliever Wilking Rodriguez (right shoulder pain) will be “no-throw” for a week and then will be reevaluated. Rodriguez, a Rule 5 acquisition from the #Yankees, will start the MLB season on the Injured List.
— John Denton (@JohnDenton555) March 23, 2023
Rodriguez won’t throw for at least a week. Then he’ll face reevaluation and rehabilitation.
These two IL moves, plus the optioning of Dakota Hudson to AAA, clear much of the drama from the pitching side of the final Spring Training roster cuts. Andre Pallante, who has more than earned a spot on the club with his performance but was looking at AAA just because of numbers, is now a virtual lock for the Opening Day roster. It’s also likely that one of the lefties — Packy Naughton, Genesis Cabrera, or JoJo Romero — will make the club out of spring.
We will update this story if additional news breaks.
Update: The battle for the lefty bullpen spot got a little clearer today.
The #STLCards optioned left-handed pitcher Anthony Misiewicz to Triple-A Memphis. That leaves the Cardinals with 40 players on their current major-league roster.
— Lynn Worthy (@LWorthySports) March 23, 2023
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