Michael Wacha Placed on 10-Day IL by Cardinals with Knee Injury

The St. Louis Cardinals announced Monday that they placed starting pitcher Michael Wacha on the 10-day injured list with left knee patellar tendonitis, retroactive April 19.            

Wacha is 1-0 with a 4.64 ERA and 1.59 WHIP in four starts this season. 

Wacha made just 15 starts in 2018, going 8-2 with a 3.20 ERA and a 4.22 FIP. He was averaging a career-high in walks (3.8 per nine innings), and his fastball velocity had fallen from 95.64 mph in 2017 to 94.33 mph, according to Brooks Baseball.

The Cardinals placed Wacha on the then-disabled list last June with an oblique strain, and the injury lingered over the remainder of the season. St. Louis eventually shut him down completely in September.

As long as Wacha's newest injury doesn't prove to be so serious, the Cardinals shouldn't be in dire straits. St. Louis boasts a strong rotation from top to bottom, and highly touted prospect Alex Reyes is finally healthy after missing almost all of 2017 and 2018. Reyes has opened 2019 out of the bullpen.

Wacha is a solid starting option in the back end of the rotation, but he won't make or break the Cardinals' campaign.

Stats are courtesy of FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.