When Jack Flaherty was placed on the injured list for a second time, the expectation was that the St. Louis Cardinals rotation would crater. Instead, on the back of Adam Wainwright’s dominant performance in his age-40 season, they have won nine straight games and are likely headed to the postseason.
And Flaherty might be close to returning.
When Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch asked manager Mike Shildt if Flaherty could be used as an opener on Friday, he declined comment but “his kid on Christmas Eve smile said enough.”
The question was posed after Flaherty threw to hitters in Milwaukee.