Cardinals pitcher Jaime Garcia seeks second opinion

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jaime Garcia is seeking a second opinion on his shoulder.
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
The announcement that the Mexico native would seek a second opinion came one day after he visited with the team surgeon back in St. Louis on Monday. He is visiting with the famed Dr. James Andrews today to get another opinion. As a result, the team would not really comment on Garcia’s health yesterday.

Until Garcia gets Dr. Andrews’ opinion, the Cardinals are in a waiting game. Last May, Dr. George Paletta performed Garcia’s shoulder surgery, including Garcia’s “labrum and significant damage to his rotator cuff.”

An MRI was found to be “encouraging.”

Having a left-handed pitcher like Garcia in the rotation would have been nice for the Cardinals as it would mix up opponents from having to face right-handed pitching all the time.

In other news, the Cardinals have decided to limit Yadier Molina‘s innings this spring. The decision comes a few months after the Minnesota Twins announced that longtime catcher Joe Mauer would be moving to first base full time. The Cardinals hope that this will prevent Molina from headed to the DL with another knee injury.

Jordan Swagerty, who had been recovering from Tommy John surgery has been shut down and will undergo an MRI.