PITTSBURGH _ After taking two weeks to let the trouble in Adam Wainwright's elbow subside, the Cardinals are "optimistic" that their veteran starter will be able to pitch again for them this season. What role he'll have will remain a question.
Wainwright received a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection Friday and he will go 10 to 14 days without throwing. Luke Weaver will start Wednesday in his place and have a chance to remain in the rotation, as Wainwright isn't expect to return until rosters expand on Sept. 1. The team will have to determine in early September if Wainwright is ready for the expected workload of a starter, especially in a postseason chase.
"I think how he's used will really be dictated by where he's at," said John Mozeliak, president of baseball operations. "Prior to his last outing, he indicated to us that the more he threw the better he felt. That would indicate that it would be very difficult to be used in a short-reliever role, then the other relief roles _ would he be able to go back-to-back and get hot?
"What he meant to us as a starter, it was impactful."
Wainwright had a scan taken of his right elbow, and it revealed an impingement in the joint. It is a similar injury to the one that he had at the end of the 2014 season. Wainwright described similar sensations too _ a drop in velocity, soreness, a pinch, and even a clicking sensation in the joint. Wainwright won 20 games that season, pitched 227 innings, and then had a procedure to trim some cartilage in the elbow and remove loose chips.
It's possible he'll require some "further cleanup" after this season, Mozeliak said.
Concern for Wainwright's health triggered two starts ago when the right-hander experienced a dip in velocity and was forced to get through his start on his curve and guile. For the first time in his career, he has gone consecutive starts without a strikeout, and he got only one swing and miss on Wednesday in Boston.
Wainwright stated on Twitter that he expects to return to the mound in two to three weeks.
"We are optimistic he'll contribute," Mozeliak said.
