Wainwright could be out for year; Cardinals call up catcher with Molina still out

Published Apr. 26, 2015 11:27 a.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

foxsports

Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright's chances of returning to the mound this season kept getting smaller Sunday morning.

General manager John Mozeliak told Mike Kelly of KMOX Sports on Sunday morning that Wainwright likely will not pitch again this season, though no final determination will be made until after he gets an MRI exam Monday. That news broke shortly after St. Louis officially placed Wainwright on the 15-day disabled list with a left low ankle and Achilles injury.

An awkward stumble out of the box on an infield popup in the fifth inning of Saturday night's 5-3 win over Milwaukee caused some serious concern when Wainwright could barely put any weight on his left ankle heading back into the dugout. The Cardinals hesitated to speculate after the game, although Matheny acknowledged the possibility of an Achilles injury.

In the short term, long reliever Carlos Villanueva could move into the rotation. Top prospect Marco Gonzales figures to be in the mix at some point, though he probably won't be ready by Thursday (the next time Wainwright's spot comes around) because of a shoulder injury that sent him to the seven-day disabled list at Triple A Memphis for precautionary reasons last week.

The simultaneous call-up of Memphis catcher Cody Stanley raises some questions regarding the seriousness of a knee injury to Yadier Molina, who missed Saturday's game after being hit in the knee by a foul ball Friday night. Matheny called his All-Star catcher day-to-day with tightness in the knee. Tony Cruz will make his second consecutive start in Sunday's series finale at Milwaukee.

You can follow Luke Thompson on Twitter @FS_LukeT or email him at lukegthompson87@gmail.com.

share