With Carpenter still ailing, Cardinals look for alternative internally

St. Louis Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter's stiff neck seems to be improving, at least that is what general manager John Mozeliak communicated to Hall of Fame baseball writer Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

"But, that pain and discomfort is being alleviated over time and we're encouraged about it. The next big test is when he goes out and throws."

With Carpenter's health in doubt, many question have come as to what the Cardinals should do as a back-up plan.  We asked readers yesterday if the Cardinals should pursue free agent pitcher Roy Oswalt as a very expensive insurance policy.

But it does not look as though the Cardinals general manager is interested in going that route.  Mozeliak also told Hummel that somebody will be stretched out in case Carpenter is not ready for the start of the season.

“Internally, we’ve discussed it and we definitely feel we need to implement that Plan B.  So over this week, you’ll see somebody start to stretch out a little bit.”

Mozeliak generally uses his words very carefully.  So when he references the fact that a pitcher will "stretch it out," it almost seems like a certainty that the Cardinals will dip deep into their deep pool of bullpen talent to replace Carpenter in the rotation if the ace and horse of the staff is not able to get back on the mound soon.

So who will the Cardinals look to move from the bullpen to the rotation?

Could it be Lance Lynn, who was a very solid starter throughout his minor league career before shining in the Cardinals bullpen last season?

Or maybe the Cardinals will experiment with Mitchell Boggs once again?  The Cardinals did send Boggs to Memphis mid-season in 2011 to start some games for the Redbirds.

While Lynn and Boggs are interesting thoughts, the obvious choice seems to be Kyle McClellan.  McClellan started 17 games for the Cardinals in 2011 before being moved to the bullpen after the Colby Rasmus trade brought Edwin Jackson to St. Louis.

The organization has also felt strongly for some time that McClellan was well suited for a starting role and did alright in his first audition last season.

By letting McClellan start again, his trade value may also increase in case the Cardinals are looking for help at mid-season.

It does not look like the Cardinals and Mozeliak are interested in pursuing Roy Oswalt.  Instead they are going to look internally to fill the void left by Carpenter if he is not ready for opening day.