What Should The Cardinals Do If Adam Wainwright's Struggles Continue?

The Cardinals may ultimately find themselves in a difficult position soon. Veteran right-hander Adam Wainwright, who re-signed with the team on a one-year, $17.5 million deal this past offseason is looking to prove himself after a disastrous month of September cost him a spot in the postseason rotation and ultimately led to him not pitching in the Wild Card Series against the Phillies.

However, the issues that plagued him last September, including a hitch in his delivery and decreased velocity have reared their ugly heads early on in Spring Training. It's too early to panic, and we've seen the 41-year-old bounce back from greater challenges time and again. However, it's something that the Cardinals should keep an eye on as he prepares to make his first start in the World Baseball Classic.

He'll be pitching on Saturday night in Team USA's first game against Great Britain. He allowed one run over two innings of work against the Nationals in his first spring start but continued to struggle with his velocity.

The same issues plagued him in his start last week against the defending champion Astros. Though his velocity had improved slightly, he allowed three runs over three innings of work, and the exit velocities on some of his pitches were quite concerning.

If these struggles persist, then the Cardinals may have to improvise with their starting rotation and rethink their plan to start Wainwright on Opening Day against the Blue Jays.

Here are three things that the Cardinals should consider if Wainwright doesn't improve.

1. Move Him To The Bullpen

Perhaps Wainwright could finish his career the way he started it; in the bullpen.

Wainwright is entering the final season of his storied career after confirming as much when he was re-signed. But long ago, Wainwright was not a starter and was actually used primarily in relief, even being handed the closer's role in 2006 when Jason Isringhausen went down.

All he did was close out all three postseason series, which included a looking strikeout of Carlos Beltran in Game 7 of the NLCS.

A year later, Wainwright was moved to the rotation and became the team's ace, only pitching in relief after returning from injuries in 2015 and again in 2017. But with him being 41 years old, it might be worth it to consider a bullpen role for the right-hander to preserve his arm and potentially use him as a spot starter on occasion, similar to Jake Woodford and Andre Pallante.

2. Give The Young Guys A Chance

Speaking of Jake Woodford and Andre Pallante, both pitched admirably when given the opportunity to start. Pallante's most recent start was a dominant eight-inning performance in which he held the Nationals scoreless.

Woodford has looked good each time the Cardinals have given him a start. In fact, he allowed just three hits over four shutout innings against the Yankees in his most recent start, so there's definitely some promise there.

With Wainwright aging, it might make sense to put a younger arm in the rotation in his place while he fills the long relief role.

Other names that could be under consideration include Matthew Liberatore, Connor Thomas, Gordon Graceffo, and Michael McGreevy.