Cardinals Ace Wainwright to DL, Could Hamels be on Radar?

St. Louis Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a left Achilles and left ankle injury, the team says, and could be out much longer.

The 33-year-old pitcher was injured while batting in the top of the fifth inning over a 5-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday night. The injuries occurred after Wainwright broke from the batter's box on a fifth-inning popup.

Wainwright was expected to return to St. Louis with the team after Sunday's game for an MRI on Monday.

Catcher Cody Stanley has been recalled from Memphis-Triple A, the team said Sunday.

Could this injury to Wainwright lead the Cardinals to call the Phillies regarding a trade for their ace, Cole Hamels?

Ken Rosenthal wrote on that possibility on Sunday:

"The injury to Wainwright will spur immediate speculation about the Cardinals trading for Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels. Other teams, though, might have more to offer Philadelphia. The Cardinals' farm system was only No. 15 in Baseball America's latest organization rankings, in large part because it has graduated so many young players to the majors in recent years."

The Phillies are said to still be aiming high on talks regarding Hamels, even with a slow start to the season for the left-hander. Talks will surely continue into the trade season of baseball, with the annual trade deadline on July 31st.

Video of the Wainwright video is posted below:

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

--PG