Cardinals Moving Michael Wacha to Bullpen Effective Immediately

While many of us expected the Cardinals rotation to get an infusion of talent from the bullpen in the not-so-distant future, with Carlos Martinez moving back where he belongs, things have actually changed in the opposite direction.

Yes, a previous stalwart is joining C-Mart in the 'pen instead.

After a rough start against the Royals became the latest in a long line of embarrassments, Michael Wacha will be heading to the bullpen, too, effective immediately.

Wacha's ERA now sits at 5.59 for the season, and his home mark is a robust 8.27 in the friendly confines of Busch. His campaign thus far was marked by a knee issue in mid-April, and the man himself knows he hasn't done much with his time on the mound to justify more action, ripping himself after his most recent start.

There's not much about Wacha's 2019 that resembles last year, either, an 8-2 campaign with a 3.20 ERA.

We're not sure what about Wacha's stuff ticks up out of the bullpen necessarily; this is more of a panic move, akin to a phantom DL stint. The team needs to get one of their horses right, and they can't keep running him out there every five days while he fails to work it out.

The Cardinals rotation will somehow get even younger in the interim.