Adam Wainwright Injury: Updates on Cardinals Star's Achilles and Recovery

As the St. Louis Cardinals finalize their run to the playoffs, they got some good news, as pitcher Adam Wainwright has been activated and will be available Wednesday when the team takes on the Pittsburgh Pirates in the last matchup of a three-game series.

The right-hander, a starter for the majority of his career, will serve out of the bullpen, Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said on Sept. 21, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The 34-year-old hurler tore his Achilles in April, and while it was initially thought he would miss the remainder of the 2015 campaign, the pitcher hopes to help the team's championship push.

During his rehab, Wainwright was unwilling to give up on the idea of returning, reported David Wilhelm of the Belleville News-Democrat on Aug. 31:

"

No doctors are telling me it's impossible. That's the story that everyone keeps writing that I haven't heard yet, and I would think I would know. If a doctor had told me that, then I would have shut this down a whole long time ago and told you all, 'Hey, I'll see you next year.' But no one's telling me that. 

I don't know if they just don't want to tell me that or if it's just not the case. I'm following my procedure and steps to (reach) and we'll see what happens.

"

The Cards boast the MLB's best team ERA at 2.89, and they have an excellent rotation that includes Lance Lynn, John Lackey, Michael Wacha and Jaime Garcia.

Wainwright served as a dominant reliever in the playoffs when St. Louis won the World Series in 2006, and if he can deliver in a similar role this time around, the Cardinals may have the secret weapon they need to go the distance in October.

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