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The Cardinals have decided pitcher Chris Carpenter is past the point of getting his arm healthy and is set to begin getting it ready.
Carpenter, who hasn't made a major-league start since opening day 2007, will begin a rehab assignment Sunday, and that starts the countdown for his return to the Cardinals' rotation in early August. The righthander and former Cy Young Award winner will start for the Cardinals' Class AA affiliate in Springfield, Mo.
"Based on how he has thrown in Florida, it seemed like a good place to start," general manager John Mozeliak said. "He felt that he was ready to face a higher level. … (Coach) Derek Lilliquist has said Carp is ready for the next challenge."
Carpenter missed all but one start last season because of elbow pain that resulted in ligament replacement surgery — Tommy John surgery — a year ago this month. The righthander had one setback on his recovery, a stiffness and soreness a month ago that sent him on a brief tour of doctor visits for an explanation. Since then, he has thrown well in simulated games at the Cardinals' spring training facility in Jupiter, Fla.
He threw well enough Monday in a simulated game that the Cardinals decided it's time to send him out on a rehab assignment. The assignment can last a maximum of 30 days before Carpenter has to be activated.
Pitching coach Dave Duncan does not expect Carpenter to take all 30 days available to him.
"I hope not," Duncan said. "What you do is you watch the steps that he's taking. … You evaluate him as he goes."
Carpenter's target for Sunday's start will be 65 to 70 pitches. He'll build up his arm strength from there, likely targeting at least 90 pitches in a minor-league game before getting consideration for his big-league return. The Cardinals will condition Carpenter as a starter, Mozeliak said, and the plan is to have him return to St. Louis as a member of the rotation. How he fares at building his arm strength will either cement that plan or lead the Cardinals to consider Carpenter for relief duty first.
"He's healthy and he's building up his pitch count," Mozeliak said. "He just needs to fine-tune to be game-ready. He said he feels strong. Velocity is there. His breaking pitches are all there. It's just about getting him the command and the overall package he needs to face major-league hitters."
A day after Carpenter makes his first start since a failed rehab assignment last July, Adam Wainwright will meet with team doctors to determine whether he can begin throwing off the mound. Wainwright, the proxy ace in Carpenter's absence, has been out since early June with a ruptured pulley in his right middle finger.
Wainwright said his recovery schedule could put him back in the rotation by the first or second week of August.
The two mending aces could return in rapid succession.
"You add those two guys pitching the way they're capable of pitching and it's certainly a plus," Duncan said. "That's why you try to get them to that point where they are ready to be as good as they can be. You don't want them doing their rehab up here if you can help it."
Said Mozeliak as he watched Kyle Lohse, the club's rotation rescuer while the two stars have been out, pitch Thursday: "It would be huge, assuming that they are able to come back at the level we're expecting. It's a good lift for us. … This whole year has been based on getting ourselves healthy and we haven't accomplished it. However, we have still stayed in it."
Carpenter, who hasn't made a major-league start since opening day 2007, will begin a rehab assignment Sunday, and that starts the countdown for his return to the Cardinals' rotation in early August. The righthander and former Cy Young Award winner will start for the Cardinals' Class AA affiliate in Springfield, Mo.
"Based on how he has thrown in Florida, it seemed like a good place to start," general manager John Mozeliak said. "He felt that he was ready to face a higher level. … (Coach) Derek Lilliquist has said Carp is ready for the next challenge."
Carpenter missed all but one start last season because of elbow pain that resulted in ligament replacement surgery — Tommy John surgery — a year ago this month. The righthander had one setback on his recovery, a stiffness and soreness a month ago that sent him on a brief tour of doctor visits for an explanation. Since then, he has thrown well in simulated games at the Cardinals' spring training facility in Jupiter, Fla.
He threw well enough Monday in a simulated game that the Cardinals decided it's time to send him out on a rehab assignment. The assignment can last a maximum of 30 days before Carpenter has to be activated.
Pitching coach Dave Duncan does not expect Carpenter to take all 30 days available to him.
"I hope not," Duncan said. "What you do is you watch the steps that he's taking. … You evaluate him as he goes."
Carpenter's target for Sunday's start will be 65 to 70 pitches. He'll build up his arm strength from there, likely targeting at least 90 pitches in a minor-league game before getting consideration for his big-league return. The Cardinals will condition Carpenter as a starter, Mozeliak said, and the plan is to have him return to St. Louis as a member of the rotation. How he fares at building his arm strength will either cement that plan or lead the Cardinals to consider Carpenter for relief duty first.
"He's healthy and he's building up his pitch count," Mozeliak said. "He just needs to fine-tune to be game-ready. He said he feels strong. Velocity is there. His breaking pitches are all there. It's just about getting him the command and the overall package he needs to face major-league hitters."
A day after Carpenter makes his first start since a failed rehab assignment last July, Adam Wainwright will meet with team doctors to determine whether he can begin throwing off the mound. Wainwright, the proxy ace in Carpenter's absence, has been out since early June with a ruptured pulley in his right middle finger.
Wainwright said his recovery schedule could put him back in the rotation by the first or second week of August.
The two mending aces could return in rapid succession.
"You add those two guys pitching the way they're capable of pitching and it's certainly a plus," Duncan said. "That's why you try to get them to that point where they are ready to be as good as they can be. You don't want them doing their rehab up here if you can help it."
Said Mozeliak as he watched Kyle Lohse, the club's rotation rescuer while the two stars have been out, pitch Thursday: "It would be huge, assuming that they are able to come back at the level we're expecting. It's a good lift for us. … This whole year has been based on getting ourselves healthy and we haven't accomplished it. However, we have still stayed in it."
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