Cardinals pitcher Carpenter to avoid surgery
St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter will not have surgery for a nerve problem in his shoulder, hoping he'll be ready for spring training after therapy and rest.
General manager John Mozeliak confirmed the course of action Wednesday. Carpenter, who was shut down for the season in early September, visited a fourth specialist in New York this week.
"There's always a risk," Mozeliak said. "How you control it is going to be telltale over the next few months. But the consensus is there are some non-surgical benefits."
The 33-year-old right-hander also underwent tests in St. Louis to determine how to best deal with nerve irritation that affects the muscles in the back of his shoulder and around his neck.
Team medical director Dr. George Paletta said last week the consensus has been that the injury would heal on its own, as it did after Carpenter was sidelined for the 2004 post-season and then returned to win the NL Cy Young Award the following season. Carpenter won 21 games in 2005 and 15 in 2006.
Carpenter pitched 15 1/3 innings last season after returning from reconstructive elbow surgery in July, going 0-1 with a 1.76 ERA. His return would cement a rotation that includes Kyle Lohse, Adam Wainwright, Todd Wellemeyer and Joel Pineiro.
The current nerve problem is in the same area of the shoulder as in 2004. Another recurrence is the specialists' biggest concern and at least one doctor recommended a "simple surgery" that could return Carpenter to full duty in three months.
"It's not a difficult surgery when you look at the band of different types of surgeries these types of specialists perform," Mozeliak said. "But there's no history that guarantees this will be a success."
Carpenter had been hesitant to undergo another procedure if it could be avoided. He was the NL comeback player of the year in 2004 after missing all of '03 and most of '02 recovering from shoulder surgery.
Lohse won a career-high 15 games and got a $41-million US, four-year extension on Monday. Wainwright was 11-3 despite missing two months with a finger tendon injury; Wellemeyer won 13 games in his first full year as a starter and Pineiro was 7-7.
Another starter, 12-game winner Braden Looper, is due for free agency.