St. Louis Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright will have Tommy John surgery on his right elbow and miss the entire season.

Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak confirmed the news yesterday at the team's spring training facility in Jupiter, Fla. He said he learned the severity of the injury Wednesday night after the 29-year-old pitcher sought a second opinion from Dr. Lewis Yocum in Los Angeles.

"It's not a real surprise to us but certainly a disappointment," Mozeliak said. " . . . We certainly believe we still have a strong starting rotation. Now we're going to have to look to try to fill it in terms of a fifth spot."

Wainwright, who felt stiffness in his arm after Monday's throwing session, won 20 games last year and was runner-up for the NL Cy Young Award. His loss leaves the team with a big hole in a starting rotation that for now includes Chris Carpenter, Kyle Lohse, Jaime Garcia and Jake Westbrook.

"That's a big guy to miss," Lohse said. " . . . Nobody is going to feel sorry for us. We still have to go out there and do our jobs."

The Cardinals entered spring training with a rotation that Mozeliak said he would stack up against any in baseball.

"You're losing an ace," Mozeliak said. "It's not something you can replace overnight. I would also say we have four quality pitchers. It's not exactly like we have no bullets left."

Manager Tony La Russa said Wednesday, before learning the severity of the injury, that he doesn't expect the Cardinals to try to replace Wainwright through a trade or free-agent signing of someone like Kevin Millwood or possibly Pedro Martinez.

Cabrera reports to camp

Miguel Cabrera arrived at spring training for the first time since he was arrested last week on suspicion of drunken driving and apologized as Major League Baseball said he will undergo treatment set up by doctors administered by management and its players' union.

The 27-year-old was arrested Feb. 16 on suspicion of driving under the influence and resisting an officer without violence, both misdemeanors. He is set to be arraigned on March 16. - AP

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