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Sept. 2: RHP Adam Wainwright (soreness) has his start pushed back from Sunday to Thursday; LHP Zack Thompson starts Sunday; OF Michael Siani claimed from Reds and optioned; RHP Guillermo Zuñiga moved to 60-day injured list
Though Wainwright, 42, pitched six strong innings Monday against the Padres, he told trainers and coaches it was one of the five worst appearances of his career in terms of how his body felt, so the club elected to push him back several days to give him more recovery time. He now will pitch Thursday in Atlanta, about a four-hour drive from his hometown of Brunswick, Ga., and he expects a large contingent of family and friends to be in attendance.

With Wainwright at 198 career wins in his 18th and final MLB season, the move reduces his remaining number of starts to five as he tries to win 200 games. Only two Cardinals pitchers, Bob Gibson and Jesse Haines, have reached that round number.

“He needed that recovery time,” manager Oliver Marmol said. “Yes, it works out where he pitches in Atlanta, but he needed the extra days.”

The club also claimed Siani from the Reds and optioned him to Triple-A Memphis, while transferring Zuñiga to the 60-day injured list.

Sept. 1: RHP Ryan Helsley (right forearm strain), OF Lars Nootbaar (lower abdomen contusion) activated off injured list; INF/OF Brendan Donovan (right arm surgery) moved to 60-day IL, RHP Jake Woodford activated and optioned to Triple-A Memphis
Helsley, who last pitched at the MLB level on June 7, was activated before the Cardinals' series opener against the Pirates at Busch Stadium. Nootbaar, who has been out since Aug. 16, was activated and put into the starting lineup at center field.

To make room for them on the roster, Donovan was transferred from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list and Woodford was activated and optioned to Triple-A Memphis. Donovan, the first rookie to win a Gold Glove in the rich history of the Cardinals in 2022, had season-ending surgery to repair the damaged ligament in his right elbow and should be ready for the start of Spring Training, per the club.

A year after going 9-1 with 19 saves and a 1.25 ERA, Helsley is 3-4 with a 3.24 ERA this season. He has seven saves in 11 opportunities this season. He’s struck out 33 batters in 25 innings pitched. In five outings with Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis, Helsley allowed four runs on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings while striking out four.

Thumb, back and abdomen injuries have limited Nootbaar to 90 games this season. He is hitting .283 with 12 home runs, 39 RBIs and an OPS of .835. The abdomen injury interrupted Nootbaar’s stellar second half, in which he has hit .330 with seven home runs and 14 RBIs and an eye-popping 1.027 OPS in 30 games after the MLB All-Star Game.

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INJURY UPDATES

10-day and 15-day IL

LHP Steven Matz (left lat strain)
Expected return: Likely 2024
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol acknowledged for the first time on Sept. 3 that Matz is unlikely to pitch for the club again this season. Matz still hasn’t begun throwing since he went on the injured list on Aug. 14, retroactive to Aug. 13, due to a strained muscle near his left shoulder.

“It’s getting pretty darn tight, to be quite honest. Probably not,” Marmol said. “But I still want to keep the week-to-week progress going and see where we’re at.”

If Matz does return, it would be as a reliever, Marmol said, though the club still is penciling him in as a starter for 2024. (Last updated: Sept. 3)

LHP Matthew Liberatore (low back tightness)
Expected return: TBD
Liberatore experienced some back discomfort after lifting weights, and after initially pushing his start back from Aug. 21 to Aug. 23, the club opted to place him on the injured list Aug. 22. The move is retroactive to Aug. 19.

In 12 games (11 starts) this season, he's 2-5 with a 6.12 ERA across 50 innings. (Last updated: Aug. 22)

OF Dylan Carlson (lingering ankle soreness, oblique strain)
Expected return: TBD
Carlson was placed on the 10-day injured list on Aug. 12, retroactive to Aug. 10, because of a left oblique strain. The former first-round Draft pick felt something in his left side after a swing during his first-bat on Aug. 9 vs. Tampa Bay at St. Petersburg. He was kept out of the lineup the next two games before imaging revealed he had a strain, resulting in an IL stint. He is also still dealing with a left ankle injury he sustained in May, and he received a pain-killing injection in that ankle on Aug. 21. The team is hopeful he will be able to resume light baseball drills after seven days. (Last updated: Aug. 22)

60-day IL

RHP Guillermo Zuñiga (right forearm strain)
Expected return: TBD
Zuñiga was recalled on Aug. 25 from Triple-A Memphis after right-hander Drew VerHagen was placed on the bereavement list. Zuñiga last pitched on Aug. 19 against the Mets, allowing one run over one inning. He began feeling pain in the forearm during a bullpen session shortly before landing on the IL. He was transferred to the 60-day IL on Sept. 2. (Last updated: Sept. 2)

INF/OF Brendan Donovan (right elbow surgery)
Expected return: Spring Training 2024
Donovan underwent season-ending surgery on Aug. 2 to repair the damaged ligament in his right elbow. Donovan was a candidate for the interior brace procedure -- one that repairs and anchors the ligament -- rather than Tommy John surgery.

Donovan should be ready for the start of Spring Training in 2024, manager Oliver Marmol said. For the season, Donovan hit .284 with a career-best .787 OPS after smashing 11 home runs and 10 doubles and driving in 34 runs. (Last updated: Sept. 1)

RHP Wilking Rodriguez (right shoulder pain)
Expected return: September
Rodriguez, a Rule 5 Draft selection from the Yankees who was supposed to contend for a spot in the Cardinals' bullpen, had what was expected to be season-ending surgery on his right shoulder on May 3, according to manager Oliver Marmol at the time, but the 33-year-old Rodriguez threw a bullpen session on Aug. 10, and Marmol hopes that the righty can begin a rehab assignment by the end of August.

Rodriguez appeared in seven Spring Training games, but he opened the regular season on the injured list because of recurring shoulder pain. He made three appearances with Triple-A Memphis, but pain eventually returned in his shoulder. (Last updated: Aug. 11)

LHP Packy Naughton (left forearm strain)
Expected return: 2024
Naughton was forced to leave the April 7 loss to the Brewers in the eighth inning with numbness in his left arm. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said on June 19 that Naughton would undergo surgery on June 26, sidelining the left-hander for the remainder of 2023. (Last updated: June 19)

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