As the St. Louis Cardinals finalize their run toward the playoffs, they will soon learn whether starting pitcher Adam Wainwright will be able to take the mound again this season.
Continue for updates.
Wainwright to Learn 2015 Fate Monday
Thursday, Sept. 17
The 34-year-old hurler tore his Achilles in April, and while it was initially thought that he would miss the remainder of the 2015 campaign, hope remains that he could still return to action.
According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the three-time All-Star will be evaluated by doctors Monday, at which point it will be determined if he will pitch again this season or shut it down for the rest of the year.
Wainwright has been throwing bullpen sessions, and per David Wilhelm of the Belleville News-Democrat, he is unwilling to give up on the idea of returning until he's told he can't:
No doctors are telling me it's impossible. That's the story that everyone keeps writing that I haven't heard yet, and I would think I would know. If a doctor had told me that, then I would have shut this down a whole long time ago and told you all, 'Hey, I'll see you next year.' But no one's telling me that. I don't know if they just don't want to tell me that or if it's just not the case. I'm following my procedure and steps to (reach) and we'll see what happens.
If Wainwright is able to return this season, Goold reported that it would be as a reliever rather than a starter, according to Tim McKernan of InsideSTL.com.
Although that wouldn't be ideal, the Cards entered Thursday with MLB's best team ERA at 2.86, and they have an excellent rotation that includes Lance Lynn, John Lackey, Michael Wacha, Carlos Martinez and Jaime Garcia.
Wainwright served as a dominant reliever in the playoffs when St. Louis won the World Series in 2006, and if he can come back in a similar role this time around, the Cardinals may have the secret weapon they need to go the distance in October.
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