Cardinals throw rotation derby ‘wide open’ as Flaherty has shoulder inflammation

JUPITER, Fla. — The same pitching depth that, initially left unattended, depleted last season and nearly capsized the Cardinals’ ability to contend has its first significant test of the new year.

Jack Flaherty received an injection Friday to calm irritation in his right shoulder and will start the regular season on the injured list, his return to the rotation to be determined after two weeks without throwing. Flaherty traveled to Los Angeles to meet with a physician and have a pre-existing tear near his joint reviewed for the cause of stiffness in the shoulder.

He was diagnosed with bursitis, according to a source, and received treatment to soothe the inflammation. Mozeliak said the righthander was prescribed a platelet-rich plasma injection.

“(We) still think this is something he can pitch through,” said John Mozeliak, president of baseball operations. “So our fingers are crossed that that’s true.”

Flaherty has pitched with a “small” SLAP tear – the junction where the shoulder meets the biceps – for the past five seasons, including the 2019 season, a source described. Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak noted the tear when announcing Friday’s treatment, and the team later confirmed its knowledge of the tear from past years.