St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter is experiencing discomfort in his neck, and it forced the 36-year old to leave camp in Jupiter, Florida on Friday morning. The team said Carpenter will be re-evaluated and is seeking a second medical opinion.
The club has remained intentionally vague about Carpenter's timetable after initially suggesting he would miss one Grapefruit League start. Carpenter said Thursday that he had experienced neck discomfort for 5-6 days but neither he nor the club disclosed whether the matter is thought to be muscle- or nerve-related.
Carpenter was supposed to throw a side session today while his teammates played the Minnesota Twins. After this latest setback, Carpenter's availability for Opening Day is starting to look uncertain.
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