According to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, after throwing a live batting practice session on Sunday, Chris Carpenter alerted St. Louis Cardinals management on Monday that he's still feeling discomfort in his neck and upper arm associated with the bulging disk that has plagued him for most of the spring. The Cardinals subsequently cancelled the live BP session that he was scheduled to throw on Wednesday, and he has returned to St. Louis where he will be examined further by specialists.
Carpenter has suffered multiple setbacks this spring as he's gotten closer to making his first Grapefruit League appearance, and though Cardinals officials were initially relieved that Carpenter has no nerve damage in his neck, another setback obviously has to be cause for concern. Carpenter, who threw the most innings in the National League last year, will continue to be replaced in the rotation by converted (at least temporarily) reliever Lance Lynn, except now it looks likely that the situation will stretch into the regular season.
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