As first reported Tuesday by beat writer Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals have settled on 24-year-old left-hander Tim Cooney as Adam Wainwright’s replacement in their starting rotation. At least for now. Cooney will be called up from Triple-A Memphis on Thursday and debut in an afternoon matinee against the visiting Phillies.
Wainwright suffered a torn Achilles tendon during an at-bat Saturday in Milwaukee and will be sidelined for 9-12 months. Marco Gonzales and Jaime Garcia were both vying for rotation spots this spring, but they’re both currently sidelined with shoulder issues.
Gonzales should be ready sometime in mid-May and will presumably get the call if Cooney isn’t working out.
Cooney, a third-round pick in 2012 out of Wake Forest University, has registered a decent 3.50 ERA and 324 strikeouts across 385 1/3 career minor league innings.
