"The Cardinals' starting rotation wasn't the only thing complicated by Wednesday's disclosure that Adam Wainwright may face elbow ligament transplant surgery.

Wainwright's contract also becomes an issue.

As part of a four-year, $15 million deal Wainwright signed in March 2008, the Cardinals may void a two-year, $21 million option for 2012 and 2013 if the 20-game winner ends this season on the disabled list with an arm- or shoulder-related injury. Ligament replacement would make the disabled list a certainty.

The option vested last November when Wainwright finished among the top five in balloting for the NL Cy Young Award. (He finished second to unanimous winner Roy Halladay of the Philadelphia Phillies.) The option provides Wainwright $9 million in 2012 and $12 million in 2013, a bargain for a pitcher who has won 39 games and challenged for the Cy Young Award the last two seasons but perhaps a premium for one who may be unavailable for much of next season.

Wainwright, who has dealt with a ligament issue since 1998 when still in high school, agreed to what many deemed an undervalued contract partly because of the problem he now confronts."