Cardinals' Wainwright won't need surgery on right elbow

The St. Louis Cardinals received some good news Monday regarding the state of ace Adam Wainwright's elbow. 

Wainwright, who battled elbow discomfort throughout the second half of the season and into the playoffs, had a series of tests performed that ruled out the need for surgery, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 

Rest has been prescribed and the team expects Wainwright to have a normal offseason. Goold notes that Wainwright's spring training schedule will be modified to limit his workload heading into the 2015 season. Wainwright, who missed all of the 2011 year following Tommy John surgery, has thrown a major-league high 519 2/3 innings over the last two seasons, including the playoffs.

The elbow issue became a big story during St. Louis' postseason run when concerns popped up about whether Wainwright would be able to make his scheduled starts. He didn't miss any outings but was roughed up in his first two playoff starts before ending his season on a high note. 

Wainwright almost single-handedly kept the Cardinals' season alive, throwing seven innings of two-run ball with seven strikeouts in Game 5 of the NL Championship Series. The San Francisco Giants went on to win 6-3 on a walk-off homer in the ninth inning to eliminate St. Louis from the playoffs. 

The nine-year veteran won 20 games and put up a career-best 2.38 ERA over 227 innings.