Wainwright to begin season on DL with hamstring strain

St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Adam Wainwright was scratched from his final spring start Sunday due to a strained left hamstring and will open the season on the disabled list, manager Mike Matheny confirmed to Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

For now, Wainwright will be replaced in the rotation by right-hander Jack Flaherty, who made his MLB debut last year as a September call-up, stumbling to a 6.33 ERA across five starts and one relief appearance with the Cardinals. This spring, the 22-year-old managed a 4.85 ERA and 1.08 WHIP over four Grapefruit League starts, notching 20 strikeouts while allowing three home runs in 13 innings.

"The timing is unfortunate but as far as the severity (of Wainwright’s injury), I’m not overly concerned," president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "It’s a nice reward for Jack. He had a nice camp.

"From our perspective, it’s always tough sending down someone's who pitched well. It's never good to put someone on the DL but in a pitcher's case, a hamstring versus an elbow or shoulder ... we're OK."

Following a disappointing, injury-marred 2017 campaign, Wainwright enjoyed a terrific spring, posting an 0.84 ERA and recording 10 strikeouts without allowing a homer in 10 2/3 innings. Before injuring his hamstring, the 36-year-old had been slated to make his regular-season debut Saturday at Citi Field.