The main problem this season for the St. Louis Cardinals has been their starting pitching, or lack thereof.
The team managed to bring back Adam Wainwright for one final season, but added no other starters, even though names like Nathan Eovaldi, Chris Bassitt, Justin Verlander, Carlos Rodon, Michael Wacha and Jacob deGrom were available.
This season, Wainwright has struggled big, posting a 6.56 ERA in his first nine starts of the season.
The veteran right-hander even deactivated his Twitter account after receiving hate mail from Cardinals fans following his rocky start in London.
Many fans believe that bringing back the two-time World Series champion prevented the Cardinals from adding pitching.
However, Cardinals writer Ben Frederickson set the record straight on this issue, expressing sadness that Wainwright deleted his Twitter account, but also noting that bringing him back shouldn’t have stopped the team from adding pitchers.
Twitter is worse without Adam Wainwright. I hope you come back one day. Another thought: bringing Waino back for his retirement season has in no way, shape, or form stopped. #CardsSTLCards to add starting pitching, unless they wanted to.
—Ben Frederickson (@Ben_Fred) June 26, 2023
Wainwright had a solid 2022 season, but faltered in September and lost his spot in the rotation.
Eventually, he was brought back on a one-year contract and guaranteed a spot in the rotation.
However, Frederickson is right to point out that bringing Wainwright back shouldn’t have stopped St. Louis from adding more guns.
This would have allowed the Cardinals to give Wainwright a more flexible role, while also having some much-needed rotation insurance in the event of injuries.
Either way, it’s ultimately sad that it’s gotten to the point where the three-time All-Star had to delete his Twitter account.
Despite his struggles, he has been one of the best players to wear a Cardinals uniform, and fans owe him respect for his accomplishments.
Bringing him back also didn’t have to stop the Cards from signing or trading for more pitching.
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