Adam Wainwright injures pitching elbow; out for season?

The St. Louis Cardinals have suffered a major blow to their championship aspirations.

Just over one week into Spring Training, star pitcher Adam Wainwright left the teams’ facilities in Jupiter, Florida and flew back to St. Louis to have his right pitching elbow evaluated by doctors. The club is preparing to potentially lose their 20-game winner for the 2011 season.

Adam Wainwright could be lost for the season due to Tommy John surgery

Speaking to reporters Wednesday morning at the Cardinals spring training complex, general manager John Mozeliak painted a negative picture on Wainwright’s prognoses.

“Just based on the initial evaluation from our training staff, things do not look encouraging,” Mozeliak said. “But before we jump to any conclusions, we will wait until the evaluation this afternoon and at that point we will come out with another statement.”

Asked if the injury could lead to season-ending Tommy John Surgery, Mozeliak said, “I don’t want to speculate but obviously ligament damage, that’s usually what it results in.”

Mozeliak said Wainwright felt pain on his third to last pitch of Monday’s live batting practice session.

When asked if he was concerned the injury was significant, Mozeliak replied, “I do, but again, not being a doctor, I will let them weigh in first.”

The right-hander finished second in Cy Young Award voting last year after going 20-11 with a 2.42 ERA.

The Cardinals are rumored to have contacted free agent pitcher Kevin Millwood to potentially fill Wainwright’s spot in the rotation.