The Cardinals will assume the two-year, $21 million option on starting pitcher Adam Wainwright, barring an unforeseen complication in his return from ligament replacement surgery in February, general manager John Mozeliak confirmed Thursday night.
"There is no reason for us not to assume it," Mozeliak said.
Mozeliak described the stance as "unofficial" because the club option doesn't need to be exercised until shortly after the season. Wainwright on Thursday described his rehab as accelerating on a positive slope that will allow him to return to the mound before mid-September. Wainwright recently received clearance to throw from 120 feet on flat ground and is able to one-hand 60-pound weights.
"To date he has had a very, very good rehab. I'm knocking on wood as we speak," Mozeliak said.
The 2010 runner-up for the NL Cy Young Award spoke confidently Thursday of his ability to fully participate in spring training less than a year after requiring Tommy John surgery. Wainwright reiterated a belief that he might be a factor in October should the Cardinals reach postseason play. However, the team's 10-game deficit with 29 games left on the schedule would appear to make the possibility moot.
Wainwright, who turns 30 next Tuesday, agreed to the two-year club option as part of an extension signed prior to the 2008 season. He led the National League with 19 wins in 2009 and won 20 games in 2010. Wainwright finished third in 2009 Cy Young balloting to Tim Lincecum and teammate Chris Carpenter before placing second behind unanimous winner Roy Halladay last November.
The finishes caused the option to automatically vest, according to the contract's terms, but the Cardinals could have exercised an out due to Wainwright ending this season on the disabled list with an arm-related injury.
Mozeliak allowed that Wainwright's ligament replacement complicates rolling the option into a longer extension. "I just don't think the timing of something like that would make sense," Mozeliak said.
The option provides Wainwright $9 million next season and $12 million in 2013, a relative bargain for a pitcher who led the league in wins in 2009 and 2010, won a Gold Glove in 2010 and pitched more than 230 innings each of the past two years. Wainwright posted a 2.63 ERA in 2009 and a 2.42 ERA last season.
Except for a recent minor triceps strain, Wainwright said he has not been interrupted in his rehab. Even the elbow pain he anticipated after surgery was less severe than in the leg from which the ligament was transplanted.
"There is no reason whatsoever that I wouldn't be 100 percent by spring training — that is unless something totally unexpected happened," he said.
Wainwright will throw from a bullpen mound to a standing catcher next week. He expects to throw with the catcher crouching in 2½ weeks.
"Spring training's a lot farther off than that," he said. "Why would I not be ready?"
Wainwright says he has regained the 20 or so pounds he lost in the weeks immediately following surgery. The toughest part of his summer may have been witnessing a contending team abruptly fade as its rotation labored for quality starts.
"I'm in the prime of my career, for one thing. There is no question I feel I make a difference in this team when I'm healthy," he said. "That's nothing at all against anybody else on the team. I feel I'm a quality big-league pitcher. I can make a difference. When we were in first place, it wasn't so hard to watch. When we're struggling like we are now, it's tougher."
Carpenter claimed, then pulled back
Former NL Cy Young Award winner Chris Carpenter was exposed to waivers earlier this month, claimed by multiple teams, and pulled back, an industry source said Thursday.
The Cardinals apparently placed the bulk of their roster on waivers in the week immediately following the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. Carpenter, according to the source, was the most prominent player claimed. Others, such as right fielder Lance Berkman and infielder Ryan Theriot, cleared and may now be traded without risk of the move being blocked.
Carpenter said Thursday afternoon that he was unaware of the waiver claims and insisted the club never presented him with a trade possibility.
Carpenter, who enjoys blanket veto power over any trade or claim, said during spring training he would waive that leverage if the club thought it was in its best interest to move him.
Upon hearing that he eluded a claim, Berkman offered mock indignation. "I'm upset no one wanted me."
Because waivers are considered confidential, Mozeliak refrained from commenting on them except to reiterate the club is not actively seeking a trade before Sept. 1, when eligibility for playoff rosters is set.
