After missing 141 games due to a torn Achilles the end of April, pitcher Adam Wainwright has officially been activated by the St. Louis Cardinals and is available to pitch out of the bullpen in today’s doubleheader at Pittsburgh.
“The question was could I get my legs back to where they need to be,” said Wainwright recently. “I 100% fully believed that this entire process.”
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And so too did the belief grow amongst his teammates as they watched him tirelessly rehab these last few months. “He was a monster,” shared Kolten Wong during one of Waino’s recent simulated games. “He’d be in there at 12am working.”
Besides the physical work, Wainwright has also been preparing for the return to the bullpen and getting into that routine.
“I’ve been down there each day a little bit more,” he smiled. “I started off with one inning just in the room behind the tunnel. Then I did two innings on the bench out with the guys. I did three innings, then I did three and a half innings–so I’m building myself up and spending time in both places.”
In the corresponding roster move, as Wainwright was activated from the 60-day disabled list, he was replaced on it by Carlos Martinez–who is out the rest of the year due to a shoulder strain.
#STLCards play a pair @Pirates today. Michael Wacha gets the start in Game 1 at 12:35 pm CT pic.twitter.com/zkYGK5R88B
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) September 30, 2015
photo credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
