Carpenter back in Cardinals camp, not on mound

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) -- St. Louis General Manager John Mozeliak is optimistic Chris Carpenter will pitch for the Cardinals this season. He just doesn't know when.

Carpenter, who has yet to appear in a spring training game, returned to Cardinals' camp after four days of tests last week in St. Louis to determine the cause of a nerve ailment that has weakened his throwing shoulder.

"Right now, the whole goal is to get his shoulder strengthened," Mozeliak said Monday. "We are not going to put any timetable on it yet. We are just going to take it day by day."

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny thinks the 37-year-old will have to rest.

"I've been there before," Matheny said. "When I had the concussion stuff they were flying me all over the country trying to get me to this specialist and that specialist, and sooner or later I just said: Enough, hopefully you guys have the information you need. He understands the process, but it's kind of grueling as far as the poking and prodding."

Carpenter has not faced hitters since batting practice on March 3. A bulging disk in his neck originally was thought to be the cause of the problem.

The 2005 NL Cy Young Award winner was 11-9 last season, then went 4-0 in the postseason as the Cardinals won the World Series. He threw 273 1-3 combined innings between the 2011 regular season and postseason.

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