Cardinals Injury Updates: Adam Wainwright, Packy Naughton Trending In Right Direction

The Cardinals' pitching staff is set to receive a boost

Scott Neville | Apr 10, 2023

Cardinals Injury Updates: Adam Wainwright, Packy Naughton Trending In Right Direction /

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St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals have dealt with a fair share of injuries to open the season.

Fortunately, a pair of pitchers are on the mend and could factor into the equation in the near future.

"Adam Wainwright threw a 33-pitch bullpen yesterday," The Athletic's Katie Woo tweeted Sunday. "He'll repeat that again on Tuesday. Team will decide then what the next progression is, whether that's live hitters, a rehab assignment or another repeat.

"Packy Naughton has a forearm strain, but imaging came back clean and intact. So that's good news, all things considered. Team will need a few more days for a timeline."

Wainwright is rehabbing from a groin injury he sustained just before the season kicked off. It'll take him at least two rehab starts plus the aforementioned bullpen session on Tuesday before he's back in a Cardinals uniform. That said, May is a realistic target for Waino.

Naughton was placed on the 15-day injured list on Saturday but should not be out for long. Forearm strains are typically short-term ailments.

The only concern is that forearm strains can be precursors to Tommy John surgery. Based on the Cardinals' precautionary approach and lack of overall concern, that likely is not the case here. A reliever does not need much time to get back into shape, so he could be in line for an early-May return as well.

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Published Apr 10, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the St. Louis Cardinals for FanNation's "Inside The Cardinals" on Sports Illustrated. Before starting "Inside The Cardinals", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." After a few months as the top Major League Baseball site in the program, Neville sought expansion and pitched "Inside The Cardinals," one of the newest additions to FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group. The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Cardinals" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu