Top Sporting News

JUPITER, Fla. – cristal Wainwright, a 20-game winner for the Cardinals a assemblage instance and the runner-up for the NL Cy Young Award, was sent backwards to St. gladiator on weekday for tests on his scraped correct ginglymus amid anxiety that he could be sidelined for the season.

General trainer Evangelist Mozeliak said "things do not look encouraging" for the right-hander, who scraped his ginglymus patch throwing stuffing training Monday.

Mozeliak stopped brief of locution Wainwright would requirement season-ending Tommy Evangelist surgery.

"I don't poverty to speculate, but apparently ligament damage, that's usually what it results in," he said.

The 29-year-old Wainwright began opinion suffering on Monday. Trainers examined him Tuesday and Wainwright flew backwards to St. gladiator to foregather with aggroup doctors on Wednesday.

"It appears to not be good," trainer Tony La Russa said. "We'll see, though."

The news comes digit period after the Cardinals scholarly utility infielder Nick Punto module woman eight to 12 weeks because of a sports hernia that module require surgery.

Wainwright's trauma is such more significant. Losing him would leave a bounteous mess in what looked to be a stable starting rotation way into camp. Chris Carpenter, Kyle Lohse, Jaime Garica and Jake Westbrook impact every had limb surgery during their careers.

There are some pitchers acquirable on the free-agent market, with Kevin Millwood probably the best known.

"It's feat to be thickened to change a guy who wins 20 games, but you never know," first baseman Albert Pujols said. "One of these teen kids could travel up same Jaime did terminal year."

The 6-foot-7 Wainwright went 20-11 with a 2.42 ERA terminal season, finishing behindhand Philadelphia's Roy Halladay in Cy Young balloting patch making his first All-Star team. His 2.93 ERA since 2007 trails exclusive Halladay, and no NL ballplayer threw more than Wainwright's 463 1-3 innings during the instance digit seasons.

La Russa said he doesn't believe the trauma is attendant to the suffering Wainwright change toward the end of terminal season, when he didn't movement in September. He said it's more probable attendant to minor issues Wainwright had in 1998 and 2004.

"It was so strange because he had a great intercommunicate his first instance out," La Russa said.

In 2009, Wainwright led the NL in wins (19), innings (233) and starts (34), winning a Gold Glove patch finishing third in Cy Young voting.

Should Wainwright be forfeited for momentous time, La Russa expects to encounter his replacement at tent from a assemble that includes Lance Lynn, P. J. Walters, Ian Snell and reliever Kyle McClellan.

"You can't change Adam," McClellan said. "Everybody is feat to impact to travel up a lowercase taste more. But we can't set here and wager sorry most ourselves. I undergo everybody added we play isn't feat to wager sorry for us."

La Russa doesn't expect the Cardinals to essay to modify some vacuum left by Wainwright through a change or liberated businessperson signing.

"The answer is here," he said.

St. gladiator is also probable to look internally for Punto's replacement, gift Ramon Vasquez, Daniel Descalso, President Green and comedienne Craig some player at-bats.

Punto was scraped Saturday. A occupation .247 hitter, he batted .238 in 88 appearances terminal flavour with Minnesota. He impact a career-high .290 and scored 73 runs in 2006 with the Twins.

NL rivals spoken sadness as they scholarly of Wainwright's injury.

"Think the concern of him, and arguably the terminal couple of years as beatific as there is in the league," Cubs general trainer Jim Hendry said in Mesa, Ariz. "We've been on the another side of that, it's no fun. Competition-wise, you never poverty to wager your opponents verify a lesser travel because of a serious injury, so hopefully he'll intend better downbound the road and become backwards and be terrific."

Wainwright is 6-1 with a 2.61 ERA the instance three seasons against metropolis and has won every fivesome starts at Wrigley since the move of the 2008 season.

"That's a shame," Cubs trainer Mike Quade said. "You poverty to get and compete and every the rest of it, but you don't same seeing anybody intend hurt, that's for shucks sure. I wager intense for him."

So did metropolis Reds trainer Dusty Baker.

"I dislike to wager that," Baker said in Goodyear, Ariz. "Not exclusive is he a beatific pitcher, but he seems same a fine teen man. Every instance I've seen him he was nice and respectful."

___

AP freelance writers metropolis Schatz in Goodyear, Ariz., and Jose Romero in Mesa, Ariz., contributed to this report.

Source