The Cardinals need Adam Wainwright to stay healthy in 2015. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports)
St. Louis Cardinals ace right-hander Adam Wainwright returned to spring training in Jupiter, Fla., on Friday and expects to be back on the mound in a matter of days.
Wainwright left camp for a medical exam in St. Louis on Thursday, where he was diagnosed with a mild abdominal strain. Wainwright felt a tweak in his side while returning a 45-pound barbell to the rack during early weightroom sessions in Florida. He experienced discomfort during fielding drills, and agreed to the appointment despite his personal opinion that the injury was nothing serious.
“You just hear and then you get on Web MD and you do all this stuff online and you’re your own best doctor, and then all of a sudden you’re your own worst doctor and you make prognosis that aren’t there,” Wainwright said. “But two days after the fact, I saw how much better I was and then I wasn’t scared anymore. It’s also relieving to hear it knowing that there isn’t something else going on in there that should cause concern.”
General manager John Mozeliak said Wednesday that the Cardinals will take things slow with Wainwright, who was fatigued at the end of the 2014 regular season. There are no limitations prescribed from medical personnel on Wainwright’s throwing program. However, there are specifics for his routine fielding and weight lifting.
“Everybody was saying that you need to scale back your innings in Spring Training,” Wainwright said. “God just naturally found a way to make that happen without ticking me off. ‘OK, Adam. You don’t want to have time off? I’ll make you take time off.'”
Wainwright said he can throw live batting practice as long as he doesn’t field his position. He will be reevaluated Monday before the team sets his schedule for spring.
“In four or five days, I can start mixing and matching things that I would normally do slowly until I’m back to 100 percent in a matter of just two weeks,” Wainwright said. “I can continue to build arm strength off the mound and face hitters and all that stuff. And when I’m ready to move laterally and get stuff going, that should be a quick, easy thing.”
