The St. Louis Cardinals now have injury issues with their top three starting pitchers after Lance Lynn was pulled from his start on Sunday with a hip flexor strain. While Adam Wainwright and Michael Wacha continue to recover from their ailments from 2014, will the Cards look to land another elite starter?
Before spring training began it was believed Cliff Lee would become a viable trade option - especially for St. Louis - if he proved he was healthy after suffering a flexor pronator strain in his throwing elbow last season. The left-hander's first minor league start went well, but he's now experiencing renewed elbow discomfort, according to Ryan Lawrence of the Philadelphia Daily News. This pretty much takes Lee out of trade talks for a while, if not for the remainder of the season.
But there is another left-hander on the Philadelphia Phillies that the Cardinals can pursue, but it won't be an easy acquisition. Cole Hamels is still very much available and 24 scouts were present for his spring training debut last Friday, according to Paul Hagen of MLB.com. One would have to assume the Cardinals sent a scout there since they've been in discussions with the Phillies for the entire offseason about Hamels.
As Wainwright deals with his recovery from minor elbow surgery as well as an abdominal strain, and Wacha enters 2015 with uncertainty surrounding his mysterious "stress reaction" injury from last season, the Cardinals might need to ramp up efforts to acquire Hamels and ensure continuity atop their starting rotation.
As recently as a few weeks ago, it was reported that in order for the Cards to land Hamels, they would need to give up starter Carlos Martinez in a potential deal. However, it appears they've been reluctant to do that because of Martinez's potential, but a move to acquire Hamels might be what they need to do in order to stay competitive in the NL Central for 2015 and beyond. The team is unsure of Jaime Garcia's health as well, and John Lackey will be hitting free agency after the season, which is even more of a reason to get a deal done as soon as possible.
Hamels noted earlier in the offseason that he prefers a trade to the Midwest or the West Coast because that's where his family is located. But most importantly he wants to go to a team that gives him a good chance to win, and the Cardinals have proven that for the better part of a decade.
Lynn will be re-evaluated at some point today, and if the news isn't good regarding his hip strain, look for St. Louis to pop up in more trade rumors involving Hamels.
