Thursday and Friday are important days for the St. Louis Cardinals.
This afternoon, veteran right-hander Adam Wainwright made his final start with the team before heading to the World Baseball Classic.
The same can be said for Miles Mikolas, who will start on Friday.
The two veteran starters will join their Cardinals teammates in Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado on Team USA next week.
The Classic begins on March 8.
But with Wainwright and Mikolas both gone, there are a few starters who are going to have some extra chances to prove themselves this spring.
According to Cardinals writer John Denton, the team will slot Jake Woodford and Dakota Hudson into their rotation to replace the two veteran right-handers while they are pitching for Team USA.
#STLCards RHPs Adam Wainwright & Miles Mikolas make their final Spring starts today & tomorrow before leaving for the WBC. Jack Flaherty (Sat), Jordan Montgomery (Sun) & Steven Matz (Mon) will start after that. Jake Woodford & Dakota Hudson will slot into Waino & Mikolas spots.
— John Denton (@JohnDenton555) March 2, 2023
And so, this represents a chance for the Cardinals to assess what they have in the starting rotation beyond Wainwright and Mikolas,
Jack Flaherty, Steven Matz, and Jordan Montgomery will all make their spring debuts after Mikolas and Wainwright depart for the WBC.
Hudson has something to prove after losing his spot in the rotation last season.
He’ll compete for a starting spot and will look to regain his 2019 form.
Woodford, to the surprise of many Cardinals fans, has been back and forth from the majors to Triple-A Memphis, despite his success at the big-league level.
The young right-hander was primarily used in relief for the Cardinals last season, but made a few solid spot starts and also served as a long man on various occasions.
These two pitchers will look to establish themselves and secure their spots on the Opening Day roster.
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Adam Wainwright Has Seen A Sharp Decline In His Velocity
