St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals will likely need to find a fifth starter this season as Adam Wainwright will likely have season ending Tommy John surgery after experiencing discomfort in his right elbow after a throwing session. Luckily for the Cards, they do have a pitcher who is familiar with this role in Brian Tallet. Tallet is a lefty who, during his tenure in Toronto filled the role of long reliever/spot starter. Tallet will throw another lefty into the Cardinals' rotation alongside Jaime Garcia. This will give the Cardinals a three righties and two lefties as starters, with an average bullpen and an above average closer in Ryan Franklin.

There have also been other names heavy in the mix as the new fifth starter for the Cards. Kyle McLellan, a pitcher who has played for pitching coach Dave Duncan before, and one that Duncan likes, has a strong chance at the spot. Rookies Lance Lynn, Brandon Dickson, and P.J. Walters' names have all been thrown in as potential candidates for Garcia-esque rookie summers.

Much of this season and perhaps the path of the NL Central this year will be how Kyle Lohse and Brian Tallet both recover from forearm injuries they suffered last season. Jaime Garcia will need to take on a heavier workload this season as his rookie campaign was shortened by a pitching limit. Mid-season pickup Jake Westbrook will have to step up his performance as well to keep the Cardinals among the top tier of teams in the NL. They still have a solid enough offense to win the division.

Nobody really knows right now, probably not even La Russa. It should be decided during Spring Training.

Their answer this year will be the rotation of the Redbirds.