The 34-year-old pitcher has been out since late April after rupturing his Achilles tendon. At the time of the injury, it was assumed Wainwright would not pitch again this season. That, obviously, is no longer the case. Wainwright has passed every test during his rehab, and is ready to return after just five months. Prior to the injury, Wainwright had a 1.44 ERA over 25 innings pitched.
Wainwright won't return as a starter. Instead, he'll be used out of the bullpen. There has been no indication the team would attempt to stretch out Wainwright as a possible starter if the Cardinals make a deep playoff run.
That means, Wainwright will likely take on the same role he filled with the team during the 2006 playoffs. That season, Wainwright was used as the team's relief ace. He didn't start any games during the club's run to a World Series victory, but instead shut down the opposition in the late innings.
During the 2006 playoffs, Wainwright pitched 9 2/3 scoreless innings as a reliever. He struck out 15 and walked just one. He also saved four games for the Cardinals.
It's unlikely Wainwright will play the exact same role this time around. Trevor Rosenthal has been excellent as the team's closer, posting a 2.10 ERA, with 83 strikeouts over 68 2/3 innings. It's more likely Wainwright will be employed as a true relief ace, coming into games when leverage is incredibly high.
That seems like the ideal way to use Wainwright, actually. If the bases are loaded in the seventh, the Cardinals are probably going to want their best pitcher on the mound to take care of business. Even with the layoff, that's probably Wainwright. If he can build up enough stamina to toss multiple innings during a game, that's even better.
After leading baseball in wins all season, the Cardinals are entering October with some pretty big questions. Yadier Molina's status for the postseason is in limbo, and the team just lost pitcher Carlos Martinez to a shoulder issue. Despite those issues, and a host of other injuries that have hit throughout the season, the team has remained in first place all year.
With that in mind, the Wainwright news has to be comforting for worried fans. Wainwright won't be employed in his normal role, but having him out there will be an obvious boost for the club as the postseason begins.
The Cardinals' 83-win team in 2006 had a lot of doubts heading into the postseason as well, but were able to get it done. This club is already in much better shape, and has Wainwright returning to the exact same role. If history tells us anything, that seems like a pretty good recipe for success.
No comments:
Post a Comment