Carpenter could begin throwing mid-June

ST. LOUIS Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter likely won't begin any kind of throwing program until at least the middle of next month, general manager John Mozeliak told reporters Saturday afternoon. Carpenter, who was shut down in spring training because of weakness in his right shoulder that was caused by a nerve irritation, has reported progress in recent weeks but still is not yet ready to begin throwing. "Things are trending in the right direction," Mozeliak said. "We still don't have a distinct timeline on when he's going to start throwing but I think the real positive right now is that he feels good with where he's at and he's definitely inching in the right direction. "If I had to guess, sometime in mid-June hopefully we'll be ready to start thinking about a throwing program." A return would likely be at least six weeks after the start of a throwing program, likely putting Carpenter out until around August 1. But the fact that the Cardinals now have somewhat of a timetable is positive news after not knowing much about his future for several weeks. "His strength is getting stronger and that's measurable so that's something everybody is looking at as a positive," Mozeliak said. Carpenter, who turned 37 last month, threw more than 270 innings combining the 2011 regular season and playoffs, the most of any pitcher in baseball. He threw 36 grueling innings in the postseason, including two starts of three days of rest and three starts in the World Series. The veteran right-hander surpassed the 4,000-pitch mark for the first time in his career, finishing with 4,155 pitches thrown in the regular season and playoffs. Carpenter first reported neck stiffness and pain following a throw to hitters in March 3. He had a cortisone injection to alleviate pain in the area and returned to the bullpen mound nearly two weeks later. But his arm didn't respond following a throw to hitters a few days later and he returned to St. Louis for a new round of tests. The Cardinals hoped Carpenter could return sometime in May, but he's still yet to throw a ball nearly two months after being shut down. If Carpenter does return later this season, it likely won't be in the bullpen. Despite a possible return with just two months left in the regular season, Mozeliak said moving the former Cy Young Award winner out of the rotation wasn't being considered yet. "I would doubt it," Mozeliak said. "It's something that we have not discussed. Anything along those lines would be something we would want to sit down and have open communication on that but right now our focus is to get him back and get him back on the mound and the likelihood would be in the rotation." Carpenter went 11-9 with a 3.45 ERA in 34 starts last season. Lance Lynn has been an impressive fill-in so far, going 6-0 with a 1.40 ERA in six starts in place of Carpenter in the rotation.