St Louis Cardinals Pitching Situation

Earlier today the St Louis Cardinals announced that Adam Wainwright will be out for the season with an achilles injury. While some people are in a state of panic, I don’t think that’s necessary. There’s no doubt about it, Waino can not be replaced, period. But with the pitching depth that the Cardinals do have I think the team should be sitting just fine.

So the big question is who will replace Adam Wainwright? Initial speculation was maybe the Cardinals look outside of the organization for a name like Cole Hamels. However John Mozeliak announced today that the Cardinals will likely be looking internally for a replacement which I think would be the right move.

More from Adam Wainwright

Marco Gonzales is currently nursing a shoulder injury so he wouldn’t be ready for the upcoming start Thursday but long term you can look at him as an option. Obviously Carlos Villanueva is in the organization and is always an option to get a few starts here and there. The leading candidates for the start Thursday are Tyler Lyons and Tim Cooney. Cooney was scratched from his scheduled start tonight in Memphis so chances are it will be him on the bump on Thursday. Speaking of pitchers, we also should have a decent one coming back in the next month or two by the name of Jaime Garcia.

Yes, the loss of Adam Wainwright is huge, he’s the ace of the organization and means a lot to the team. No, the Cardinals should not be in a state of panic. The Cardinals will still have Lynn, Wacha, Lackey, Martinez, and all the others that were just mentioned. The pitching depth is tremendous. In fact, the last time Adam Wainwright had a serious injury and missed the entire season the year was 2011. I think we can all remember what happened that year. So take a breath Cardinal Nation, the St Louis Cardinals are going to be just fine.