Adam Wainwright’s season-ending Achilles’ tendon tear is officially not season-ending, as the Cardinals have activated their longtime ace from the disabled list and will make him available to pitch out of the bullpen beginning Wednesday.
Wainwright has been one of the elite starting pitchers in baseball since 2007, posting a 2.96 ERA in nearly 1,500 innings during that time, but he did serve as a full-time reliever for the Cardinals as a 24-year-old rookie in 2006 and St. Louis won the World Series.
It’ll be interesting to see whether manager Mike Matheny quickly trusts Wainwright in a high-leverage role or if he’ll simply give him some mop-up work. He may only have one or two appearances to convince the pitching-rich Cardinals that he’s worth adding to the postseason roster.
