Wacha said Saturday that he adjusted his offseason program to incorporate more leg-strengthening exercises, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Meanwhile, Wacha scaled back his upper-body lifting in order to avoid placing strain on his throwing shoulder, which provided complications for him in 2016. Wacha was able to steer clear of the disabled list last season, but finished with only 165.2 innings due to manager Mike Matheny making a habit of granting the 26-year-old additional rest between starts. Though Wacha is hopeful to be an every-fifth-day starter throughout 2018 and set the goal of crossing the 200-inning threshold for the first time in his career, Matheny hinted the Cardinals might not deviate from a usage pattern that kept the young hurler healthy for the long haul last season. In the event the Cardinals again act conservatively with Wacha, he'll need to be downgraded in fantasy leagues that count quality starts as a category; the right-hander threw more than six innings in just two of his 30 outings last season.