St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jaime Garcia bothered by shoulder

In what has to have become somewhat of a nuisance for St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jaime Garcia, his shoulder is bothering him again. He will fly back to St. Louis for an MRI and meet with the surgeon who worked on him last year.
Feb 13, 2014; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Jaime Garcia (54) talks the field during spring training at Roger Dean Stadium. Image Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
It effectively takes him out of the running for the rotation, where he was seen as a lock due to previous success. It now opens up the final two slots between Lance Lynn, Joe Kelly, and Carlos Martinez. Adam Wainwright, Michael Wacha, and Shelby Miller are locks.

With Garcia not pitching anytime soon in Grapefruit action, Boone Whiting and Kurt Heyer have been transferred to the major league camp as non-roster invitees.

It was only a few seasons ago that Garcia broke out with a great year and was seen as a solid left-hhanded contributor to the rotation for the foreseeable future. Since then, he’s been plagued with shoulder issues and shut down repeatedly.

The 2010 season was a breakout year for the pitcher from Mexico as he finished the year third in Rookie of the Year voting after a 13-8 record and 2.70 ERA over 28 starts, including a complete game shutout. The 2011 season was somewhat more of the same with a career-high 32 starts that saw a 13-7 record with 3.56 ERA.

Garcia’s shoulder bothered him during the 2012 season, limiting him to 20 starts. Following a loss to the Houston Astros on June 5, the pitcher was out until mid-to-late August. Health issues, once more, limited Garcia to 9 starts during the 2013 campaign. His last appearance came against the Milwaukee Brewers on May 17, 2013.