Breaking news: Adam Wainwright may be out for the year
Posted by Andy on February 23, 2011
ESPN.com, among others, is reporting that Adam Wainwright suffered a serious elbow injury on Monday and may require Tommy John surgery, ending his season.
This is a terrible blow for the Cardinals. Wainwright is coming off two fantastic seasons.
Check out the 10 most valuable pitchers (as ranked by Wins Above Replacement) over the period 2009-2010:
| Rk | Player | WAR | Age | G | GS | CG | SHO | W | L | IP | Tm | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roy Halladay | 13.7 | 32-33 | 65 | 65 | 18 | 8 | 38 | 20 | .655 | 489.2 | 2.61 | 160 | TOR-PHI | 76 |
| 2 | Ubaldo Jimenez | 12.2 | 25-26 | 66 | 66 | 5 | 2 | 34 | 20 | .630 | 439.2 | 3.17 | 145 | COL | 63 |
| 3 | Felix Hernandez | 11.8 | 23-24 | 68 | 68 | 8 | 2 | 32 | 17 | .653 | 488.1 | 2.38 | 174 | SEA | 63 |
| 4 | Josh Johnson | 11.7 | 25-26 | 61 | 61 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 11 | .703 | 392.2 | 2.80 | 151 | FLA | 66 |
| 5 | Adam Wainwright | 11.7 | 27-28 | 67 | 67 | 6 | 2 | 39 | 19 | .672 | 463.1 | 2.53 | 159 | STL | 72 |
| 6 | Zack Greinke | 11.4 | 25-26 | 66 | 66 | 9 | 3 | 26 | 22 | .542 | 449.1 | 3.14 | 137 | KCR | 75 |
| 7 | Jon Lester | 10.6 | 25-26 | 64 | 64 | 4 | 0 | 34 | 17 | .667 | 411.1 | 3.33 | 136 | BOS | 69 |
| 8 | Jered Weaver | 9.9 | 26-27 | 67 | 67 | 4 | 2 | 29 | 20 | .592 | 435.1 | 3.37 | 127 | LAA | 79 |
| 9 | Tim Lincecum | 9.8 | 25-26 | 65 | 65 | 5 | 3 | 31 | 17 | .646 | 437.2 | 2.94 | 144 | SFG | 67 |
| 10 | Justin Verlander | 9.8 | 26-27 | 68 | 68 | 7 | 1 | 37 | 18 | .673 | 464.1 | 3.41 | 129 | DET | 71 |
February 23rd, 2011 at 11:26 am
NO WAY!!!!! Man oh man, that's rough for the Cardinals. Ouch!
February 23rd, 2011 at 11:29 am
Man, I'm sorry to hear this, even as a Brewers fan (and knowing that it will ultimately probably help my team). I just never want to see guys get hurt - especially when it's someone as talented and fun-to-watch as Wainwright. I've always enjoyed watching him pitch, and I hope this isn't as serious as it sounds.
February 23rd, 2011 at 11:30 am
I was just chatting about this with Neil and he and I wondered at the same time if Wainwright's injury might make Pujols more likely to leave after this season. That seems possible, especially if the Cards have a tough year without Wainwright.
February 23rd, 2011 at 12:51 pm
This is the worst time of year to have Tommy John as the recovery is often more like 16-18 months. So it will severely impact 2012 as well.
February 23rd, 2011 at 1:16 pm
Andy and Neil {#3}:
On the other hand, it might provide the Cardinals front office with the impetus {spelling?} to be more open to Pujols' demands. A tough year does that to an exec.
February 23rd, 2011 at 4:38 pm
Pujols ain't going anywhere.
Can't believe anyone thinks he would.
Test results are in for Wainwright, injury is described as "significant"
Recovery time 12-18 months.
February 23rd, 2011 at 5:13 pm
Why wouldn't he if they don't pay him what he's worth on the open market or close?
10 years 300 million is a lot, but their offer was below what I'd consider reasonable. Somebody will offer him 8-9 years in the 250-270 range, and I'd bet some teams will pony up for 300 over 10.
Now maybe they will go that high, but if they would, why not just take his offer? or counter with something close enough that the deal gets done by 2/15?
The only way he doesn't command that on the market next year is if he has a bad year, and again, if he's willing to sign for significantly less, then why didn't he counter and make a deal when he wanted to this off-season already?
I think it's very likely they will get a deal done and he will stay, for sure, but to dismiss the possibility he will move out of hand seems completely unrealistic. If it was really that obvious, he'd have signed already. What's the point of holding out?
February 24th, 2011 at 9:40 am
One of the rites of spring that we could do without.... Wainwright's injury is sad news. As a Mets fan, I perhaps should resent him for the way he ended our 2006 season; instead, I've been a big fan of Wainwright ever since he stepped fearlessly into the closer job as a rookie during that '06 pennant race and postseason, closing out each series.
Wainwright has worked his way into the very top tier of starting pitchers, so it's a shame that we'll see a whole year go by without him. I sincerely hope he can recover and pick up where he left off.
February 24th, 2011 at 3:09 pm
@Chuck ... Ken Rosenthal, who's been pretty spot-on this offseason, disagrees. He thinks the Cards could seriously decide to go into rebuild mode. Remember, this will shelve Wainwright for not only all of this year, but quite possibly the first half of next year as well. And, while modern Tommy John surgery is usually successful, it's not nera 100 percent, either.
February 24th, 2011 at 4:20 pm
In one snap of a tendon (or whatever), the 2013 Cardinals might now be more likely to lose all three: Pujols, Carpenter and Wainright.
Suddenly St. Louis is in a very bad position to hold Pujols (with diminshed playoff potential), and Carpenter will have lots of suitors after his $15M 2012 team option year.
Conversely, however, St,. Louis will be all over the mid-season trade deadline for a top-tier starter, so they'll be motivated to wheel and deal in 2011.
How long before they sign Pedro Martinez? If you have to put butts in seats asap, Pedro's your guy.
February 24th, 2011 at 4:37 pm
And, in St. Louis, Bernie Miklasz had the same line of thinking as Rosenthal: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/bernie-miklasz/article_848f9d8b-1644-5f31-a205-05e2e712ce14.html
February 24th, 2011 at 4:42 pm
@Zach ... even before this, I didn't think the Cards would pick up Carp's option. I thought they would offer him two years, $11-12M per, and a third option year at $10M.
I've blogged about Pedro ... He hasn't made 30 starts in a year since 2005. Millwood? Only one above-average year in the last six. Pedro might put butts in seats, but not necessarily Ws on the scoreboard. http://socraticgadfly.blogspot.com/2011/02/wainwright-out-for-year-pedro-as.html