Chris Carpenter will undergo surgery for his thoracic outlet syndrome and is done for the rest of 2012.
It's a tough blow to the Cardinals, who signed Carpenter to a two-year, $21 million contract extension last September. The 37-year-old right-hander did not throw a pitch in 2012 and will carry a load of question marks into spring training next February. St. Louis should be very active at this year's July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.
Last year it was Wainwright and now this year it's Carpenter. Good news is the Cards still won a WS last year without one of the two. Carpenter was supposed to be the big second half addition but that's not happening anymore. Greinke has said he would like to play in St. Louis but trading inside the division might complicate things. Cards need to add someone so this should be an interesting month for them.