Trevor Rosenthal and Adam Wainwright Hit Disabled List, All Hope is Lost
Both St. Louis pitchers land on the 10-day DL with elbow irritation.
St. Louis Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal and starter Adam Wainwright of were recently placed on the disabled list, and these blows could not come at a worse time. Now at 4.5 games back of the Cubs in the NL Central, the Cardinals have lost two major pieces to their dwindling hopes of a postseason berth.
Rosenthal, recently placed in the closer’s role, may need surgery on his elbow, and such a loss would set St. Louis back significantly, as they have no clear replacement for his 100-mph fastball and devastating slider.
Wainwright is a bit easier to replace in the rotation, as his declining velocity and 5.12 ERA are much easier to account for (or improve on) in the form of prospects Luke Weaver or even Jack Flaherty.
One possible solution is to place Wainwright in the closer role when he returns. The veteran has clearly lost something as a starter, and maybe would be better served facing opponents just once as opposed to two or three times.
By putting Wainwright in the closer role the Cardinals get an opportunity to stabilize a bullpen that has been shaky at best and also gives one of their top pitching prospects the opportunity to get valuable experience at worst and at best push the team past the Cubs.
