Chris Carpenter, SP, St. Louis Cardinals
Carpenter hasn't won a regular season game since Sept. 16, 2006. He has made only four starts and pitched 21 1/3 innings in the past two seasons because of various shoulder and elbow woes.
Before the injuries, Carpenter ranked among the best pitchers in the National League. From 2004-06, Carpenter went 51-18, won the N.L. Cy Young Award in 2005 and finished third in the Cy Young voting in 2006.
Carpenter might never return to award-winning form, but the Cardinals can live with that. If he can step into the middle of the rotation, they will be a better club than the group that won 86 games last season.
Carpenter gave the Cardinals good reason to be optimistic. He opened the spring with 19 scoreless innings and was the first St. Louis pitcher to go six innings.
"He's throwing well enough that they aren't putting the ball in play early, and he has a finishing pitch," pitching coach Dave Duncan said. "When he gets to a 0-1, 1-2 count, he's trying to put the guy away."
Sporting News
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