Houston Astros vs. St. Louis Cardinals - News - March 06, 2023 | FOX Sports

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・March 6, 2023 March 06 Mar 06

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Roger Dean Stadium, Jupiter, FL

Adam Wainwright - To start WBC opener for USAWainwright will start for Team USA in their World Baseball Classic opener Saturday against Team Great Britain, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports.

ImpactThis could wind up being an interesting test for the 41-year-old right-hander after he struggled to even reach 87 mph with his fastball during his two Grapefruit League starts for the Cardinals. Wainwright blamed the lack of velocity on some minor muscle issues in his lower back and upper legs. He registered a 3.71 ERA and 143:54 K:BB across 191.2 regular-season innings for St. Louis in 2022.

MARCH 7, 2023•ROTOWIRE

Lance McCullers Jr. - Still not throwingMcCullers (forearm) has yet to resume throwing, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

ImpactIt's been three weeks since McCullers suffered a right forearm strain while throwing a bullpen session. The Astros quickly ruled the right-hander out for Opening Day after the injury, so it's not terribly surprising that he hasn't been cleared to resume throwing yet. Given McCullers' history of arm issues -- which includes a similar injury that he had last season -- the Astros will exercise the utmost caution here.

MARCH 7, 2023•ROTOWIRE

Yordan Alvarez - Aiming to swing bat next weekAlvarez (hand) is hoping to resume swinging a bat next week, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

ImpactAstros general manager Dana Brown said Sunday he was hoping Alvarez would be ready to swing a bat by this weekend, but apparently it will take a little longer than that. It does not appear at this point that Alvarez had a setback, but the team clearly wants to make sure the slugger's nagging hand soreness is behind him before he ramps things up again. There's been no indication that the injury could affect Alvarez's Opening Day availability, but it's certainly an uneasy feeling seeing him miss so much time.

MARCH 7, 2023•ROTOWIRE

Drew VerHagen - Solid pitching so farVerHagen has allowed a walk and struck out two over two Grapefruit League innings.

ImpactKatie Woo of The Athletic reports VerHagen mixed his new four-seam fastball in with his usual sinker and slider. A hip injury ended the right-hander's season early in 2022, and his 6.65 ERA, 1.89 WHIP and 18:14 K:BB over 21.2 relief innings weren't great marks when he was healthy. He remains in the mix as a multi-inning relief option who could also serve as a spot starter, though the Cardinals' rotation has enough depth to weather an injury or two before they'd need to turn to someone like VerHagen.

MARCH 7, 2023•ROTOWIRE

Walker's Redbird rise creates a logjam at several positions. What players are impacted?There’s time for Walker to slow down of his own accord. There’s time for a seeming logjam to resolve itself through injury or transaction, a...

MARCH 7, 2023•BND.COM

Andrew Knizner - Not assured of backup jobCardinals manager Oli Marmol noted Tuesday that Knizner is not assured of the team's backup catcher role, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

ImpactKnizner served as the primary understudy to Yadier Molina over the last two seasons, but he holds just a .204/.292/.288 career batting line in 553 plate appearances at the major-league level. Tres Barrera has impressed the Cardinals' coaches and pitchers this spring, per Denton, and might emerge as the No. 2 option behind Willson Contreras.

MARCH 7, 2023•ROTOWIRE

Detroit Free PressRight-handed reliever Trevor Rosenthal, an All-Star in 2015 with the St. Louis Cardinals, officially signed with the Detroit Tigers on Saturday.

MARCH 7, 2023•FREEP.COM