ST. LOUIS -- Ace Adam Wainwright won't pitch again this season, an MRI on Monday morning confirmed.
General manager John Mozeliak said the St. Louis right-hander suffered a complete Achilles tear in his left ankle that will require surgery later this week, and he's expected to miss nine to 12 months. The bad news is what the Cardinals and many others feared as soon as Wainwright came up limping out of the batter's box on an infield pop-up in the fifth inning of Saturday night's game at Milwaukee.
"When you think about losing somebody like Adam Wainwright, it's not something you can just fill," said Mozeliak, who is optimistic Wainwright will be 100 percent for spring training in 2016. "I think the easiest way for us to think about it right now is our four starters all have to step up and then, obviously, we'll have to worry about this fifth spot."
Wainwright's next start would have been Thursday, and Mozeliak said the Cardinals plan to look within the organization for a viable option. Jaime Garcia and Marco Gonzales would have been the most likely candidates, but both are unavailable in the short term with injuries of their own.
Tyler Lyons and Tim Cooney are the names on Mozeliak's short list, although no decision has been made yet. The two left-handers have both made three starts this season at Triple A Memphis, where Cooney is 2-1 with a 3.63 ERA and Lyons, who has made 12 starts for St. Louis the past two seasons, is 1-1 with a 4.61 ERA.
Looking outside the organization could be considered if necessary, and Mozeliak believes the Cardinals have the minor league depth needed to make a move. But he's still hopeful a combination of pitchers already in the organization can fill the massive hole left by a pitcher who finished in the top three of the National League's Cy Young voting four of the last six years.
Gonzales (shoulder) should be back throwing in four to five days, and Mozeliak said the young right-hander's progress will be determined by how he fares when he returns to the mound. Garcia also doesn't have a definitive timetable for his return from a left shoulder injury, although Mozeliak hopes it will be within a month.
He's confident the first-place Cardinals can weather the storm, much like they did in 2011 when Wainwright suffered a season-ending elbow injury in February 2011 before the team went on to win the World Series. He's already shown his value on the field this season with a 1.44 ERA in a team-high 25 innings, and his leadership in the clubhouse will be missed as well.
"He feels his job is to play under his contract and he wishes he could do that, so he's down right now and understandably," Mozeliak said. "But I also feel like his presence on this club will be felt all year. He'll be around and we wish him a speedy recovery."
Manager Mike Matheny already likes the response he's seen in the game and a half since Wainwright's injury, even though St. Louis lost 6-3 Sunday afternoon at Milwaukee. Leadership will be critical to the Cardinals' ability to continue their success, and Matheny said his team should benefit from experience with key injuries.
"There's teams that do kind of almost use it as a crutch," he said. "Then there's other teams that almost see it as an extra challenge."
"They're like, 'OK, now we can do something even more special. Let's pick this guy up and I'm going to do my part and make sure that we don't back off right here.'"
Heyward, Molina healthy
The two other Cardinals injured over the weekend are both available Monday, even though Jason Heyward will miss his first start of the season in right field against Philadelphia left-hander Cole Hamels.
Catcher Yadier Molina is back in the lineup for the first time since he got hit with a foul ball off the bat of Aramis Ramirez on Friday. Matheny said Molina's knee loosened up considerably and he should be ready to go.
Heyward feels fine as well after injuring his left hamstring while fielding a triple on Sunday in Milwaukee. The Cardinals initially reported it as a groin strain. Matheny said he's keeping Heyward out of the lineup for precautionary reasons.
"I feel like at this point in the season, it being very early, they just wanted to make sure you do everything you can to make sure nothing lingers on into next month or so," Heyward said.
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