Cardinals Rumors: Could Adam Wainwright return this year?

Despite initially being ruled out for the entire season, St. Louis Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright intends to be back for the 2015 postseason as his club aims for another title.

Adam Wainwright has been called a lot of things during his big league career, but more than anything else, probably gritty and determined.

The 2015 season could very well prove that more than at any other point in the Cardinals right-hander’s playing days.

The left Achilles injury was supposed to sideline Wainwright for up to a year, but in his usual fashion, the crafty leader of the St. Louis rotation is pushing the limits and defying logic.

“I feel completely normal at all times,” Wainwright told MLB.com. “It’s a really strange injury … as far as pain is concerned. I have had zero pain the entire process, and each day, my range of motion is getting better and better. My strength is getting better and my poor little, tired, sad calf in my left leg is starting to get some strength back, so we’re just getting better every day.”

Still only 33 years old, Wainwright is coming off a 20-win season in which he finished in the top three of the National League Cy Young for the second-consecutive year.

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Over the past two campaigns, the right-hander has won 39 games for St. Louis. In those 66 starts, Wainwright posted a 2.67 ERA and 2.71 FIP – showing just why he’s arguably the best right-handed starter in all of Major League Baseball.

The Cardinals already boast the best starting rotation earned run average, thanks to the work of Michael Wacha, Jaime Garcia and even Carlos Martinez. The addition of Waino down the stretch would take an already-elite team and make it damn-near unbeatable in a postseason series.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to pitch in October,” Wainwright said. “That’s the deal.”

In his postseason career, the former first-round pick of the Atlanta Braves is 4-2 in 21 starts with a 3.12 ERA and a staggering 6.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

If Wainwright returns to the St. Louis Cardinals’ starting rotation this fall for the playoffs, get ready for a show we haven’t seen in years.

The Cardinals will throw Wainwright, Wacha and Martinez in a row. It’s hard to imagine any team competing with that matchup and with St. Louis already at the 50-win mark, they’re already the Fall Classic favorites.

Next: Remembering the Cardinals' Darryl Kile