The St. Louis Cardinals may have some issues to deal with in their starting rotation soon.
While it’s still very early in spring training, certain red flags have appeared when concerning their starting rotation, particularly right-hander Adam Wainwright.
While his velocity improved slightly from his first spring training start, it is considerably lower than it was for the vast majority of the 2022 season, with the 41-year-old topping out at just 86 mph yesterday.
As it turns out, there were several key issues plaguing the two-time World Series champion during his start on Thursday.
According to Derrick Goold, the veteran righty had a burn on his finger and the skin gave way early in the game.
He is also trying to correct a mechanical flaw with his leg.
Adam Wainwright had a burn on his index finger and the skin gave way during his start. So that was something. He also has been trying to get a muscle in his leg / lower back from him to engage after back spasms. That has limited his leg drive from him and he thinks the speed, too. #stlcards
—Derrick Goold (@dgoold) March 2, 2023
It’s still early in spring training, and Wainwright has plenty of time to fix the flaw.
However, with the World Baseball Classic taking place next week, this could pose a problem.
The mechanical flaw that the three-time All-Star spoke of is quite similar to the issue that plagued him in September last season.
Ultimately, the right-hander lost his spot in the postseason rotation and did not pitch in the Wild Card Series.
It’s too early to panic for the Cardinals, but this is something they may want to keep an eye on.
And if it continues, the Cardinals may need to look for some additional pitching help and possibly even carve out a bullpen role for Wainwright.
In the meantime, the Cardinals will wait and see how the three-time All-Star fares in the WBC.
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