Adam Wainwright, a 20-game winner for the Cardinals a year ago and the runner-up for the Cy Young award, was being sent back to St. Louis on Wednesday for tests on his injured right elbow amid concern that he could be lost for the season.
General manager John Mozeliak said “things do not look encouraging” for the right-hander, who injured his elbow during Monday’s bullpen session.
Mozeliak stopped short of saying Wainwright would need Tommy John surgery.
“I don’t want to speculate, but obviously ligament damage, that’s usually what it results in,” he said.
The 29-year-old Wainwright began feeling soreness following the bullpen session. Trainers examined him Tuesday and Wainwright was scheduled to fly back to St. Louis to meet with team doctors on Wednesday.
“It appears to not be good,” manager Tony La Russa said. “We’ll see, though.”
The news comes one day after the Cardinals learned utility infielder Nick Punto will miss eight to 12 weeks after incurring a sports hernia that will require surgery.
Wainwright’s injury is much more significant. Losing him would leave a gaping hole in what looked to be a stable starting rotation heading into camp. Chris Carpenter, Kyle Lohse, Jaime Garica and Jake Westbrook have all undergone arm surgery during their careers.
The 6-foot-7 Wainwright went 20-11 with a 2.42 ERA last season, finishing behind Philadelphia’s Roy Halladay in Cy Young award balloting while earning his first All-Star selection. His 2.93 ERA since 2007 trails only Halladay, and no National League pitcher threw more than Wainwright’s 463.1 innings over the past two seasons.
La Russa said he doesn’t believe the injury is related to the soreness Wainwright felt toward the end of last season, when he was shut down in September. He said it’s more likely related to minor issues Wainwright suffered in 1998 and 2004.
“It was so strange because he had a great throw his first time out,” La Russa said.
In 2009, Wainwright led the NL in wins (19), innings (233) and starts (34), winning a Gold Glove while finishing third in the Cy Young voting.
Should Wainwright be lost for significant time, La Russa expects to find his replacement at camp from a group that includes Ian Snell, Lance Lynn, P. J. Walters and reliever Kyle McClendon.
“We are not going to look outside the organization,” La Russa said. “The answer is here.”
St. Louis is also likely to look internally for Punto’s replacement, giving Ramon Vasquez, Daniel Descalso, Tyler Green and Allen Craig some extra at-bats.
Punto was injured Saturday. A lifetime .247 hitter, he hit .238 in 88 appearances last season with Minnesota. He hit a career-high .290 and scored 73 runs in 2006 with the Twins.
“The expectation is that (Punto) is going to be back 100 percent with a lot of the season to go,” La Russa said.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
