(Photo by Joe Puetz/Getty Images)
The main issue this season for the St. Louis Cardinals has been their starting pitching, or lack thereof.
The team managed to bring back Adam Wainwright for one final season, but did not add any other starters, despite names such as Nathan Eovaldi, Chris Bassitt, Justin Verlander, Carlos Rodon, Michael Wacha, and Jacob deGrom being available.
This season, Wainwright has struggled immensely, posting a 6.56 ERA through his first nine starts of the season.
The veteran right-hander even deactivated his Twitter account after receiving hateful messages from Cardinals fans following his tough start in London.
Many fans believe bringing the two-time World Series champion back prevented the Cards from adding pitching.
However, Cardinals writer Ben Frederickson cleared the air on this issue, expressing sadness over the fact that Wainwright deleted his Twitter account, but also noting that bringing him back shouldn’t have stopped the team from adding pitching.
Twitter is worse without Adam Wainwright on it. Hope he comes back one day. Another thought: Bringing back Waino for his retirement season in no way, shape or form stopped #STLCards from adding starting pitching — unless they wanted it to.
— Ben Frederickson (@Ben_Fred) June 26, 2023
Wainwright had a strong 2022 season, but faltered in September and lost his spot in the rotation.
He was ultimately brought back on a one-year deal and guaranteed a spot in the rotation.
However, Frederickson is correct in pointing out that bringing back Wainwright should not have stopped St. Louis from adding more arms.
This would have allowed the Cardinals to give Wainwright a more flexible role, while also having some much-needed rotation insurance in case of injuries.
Either way, it ultimately is sad that it came to the point where the three-time All-Star had to delete his Twitter account.
Despite his struggles, he has been one of the greatest players to ever wear the Cardinals uniform, and fans owe him respect for his accomplishments.
Bringing him back also didn’t have to stop the Cards from signing or trading for more pitchers.
The post Cardinals Writer Clears The Air On Team’s Pitching Issues appeared first on The Cold Wire.