Adam Wainwright's Latest Injury Proves Cardinals Need to Move Him to the Bullpen When He Returns

After exiting his start on Sunday against the Chicago Cubs, Adam Wainwright is headed to the IL with a strained hamstring. As Wainwright approaches the twilight of his career at the ripe age of 37, it is becoming increasingly obvious that the right hander simply cannot stay healthy.

Wainwright threw just 40 innings last year, and has not had a season with at least 25 starts since 2016. Due to Wainwright's decline and ailing health, the Cardinals would be much better off moving him to the bullpen once he returns.

Don't get me wrong, Wainwright has had an excellent career as a starter and he deserves all of the respect in the world. However, we know that Wainwright is more than capable of coming out of the bullpen, and there are several benefits to this.

Wainwright has come out of the bullpen before, most recently for the Cardinals in 2015 after returning late in the season from injury. He also began his career as a reliever, and was the closer for the '06 championship team. The comfort level for Wainwright as a reliever is certainly there.

Wainwright clearly is not capable of staying healthy as a starter. It is probably no coincidence that he has landed on the IL just one start after throwing 126 pitchers. Wainright simply cannot handle that level of workload at this point in his career.

Plus, Wainwright coming out of the bullpen could offer opportunity to a young arm like hard-throwing Alex Reyes, who is working his way back from injury, or allow Daniel Ponce de Leon to stick around for more than a short-term spot in the rotation.

Bringing Wainwright back as a reliever would also allow him to return sooner, as he would not have to be stretched out during a rehab assignment. Though, perhaps patience would be in St. Louis' best interests.

There would be many benefits to a possible transition to relief pitching for the veteran, and his waning health suggests that it might be the most suitable option in order to preserve his career. With the Cardinals hovering just one-half game above .500, they need as sturdy a rotation as they can get. Maybe one of their younger arms can offer that?