The competition for the final spot in the St. Louis Cardinals' starting rotation has thinned. Jaime Garcia was placed in the 15-day disabled list today with shoulder inflammation, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, which will likely clear the path for another pitcher.
Carlos Martinez has had a solid spring and now looks to be in line to grab the No. 5 starter job. Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com writes Martinez "appears to be the front-runner over Marco Gonzalez" and Goold adds Martinez "is now set to leave spring as that fifth starter."
Although Gonzales has had a much better spring than Martinez, Langosch says the team has "all along expressed an interest in getting a sustained look at Martinez as a starter." Martinez is 1-0 with a 3.94 ERA, 1.125 WHIP and 16 strikeouts in five games (four starts) while Gonzales is 1-0 with a 1.04 ERA, 1.038 WHIP and nine strikeouts in five games (four starts).
Both Martinez and Gonzales spent part of the 2014 season with St. Louis in roles as a starter and reliever. Martinez primarily served as a reliever (50 games), but also made seven starts and finished 2-4 with a 4.03 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 84 strikeouts, 13 games finished and one save in 89 1/3 innings. Gonzales spent only 10 games (five starts) with St. Louis and finished 4-2 with a 4.15 ERA, 1.529 WHIP and 31 strikeouts in 34 2/3 innings.
Another indication that Martinez is likely to win the final spot in the rotation is that he'll make another Grapefruit League start on Wednesday while Gonzales is expected to start for the Cardinals in Friday's exhibition game against Triple-A Memphis, where he might stay to start the season, since their bullpen appears to be set as well.
"[Manager Mike] Matheny did not announce who the fifth starter is but the team has started moving the direction of a decision there," writes Goold.
This further explains why the Cardinals have refused to include Martinez in a package deal for Philadelphia Phillies starter Cole Hamels. It was reported earlier in the offseason that if the Cardinals wanted Hamels they would need to give up Martinez, but since St. Louis has been pleased with his development and progress, they've clearly opted not to do that.
It appears as if Matheny is going to go with Adam Wainwright, Lance Lynn, Michael Wacha, John Lackey and Martinez as his rotation to start the season. It's unfortunate for Garcia because he was in discussions to earn back his job in the rotation (1-1 with a 3.86 ERA and 1.393 WHIP in three starts this spring), but his health has prevented him from playing for much of the past three seasons.
UPDATE: Martinez was officially named the fifth starter, according to Goold.
