St. Louis Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright has been placed on the 10-day IL after testing positive for Covid-19, per MLB.com beat reporter John Denton.

In a corresponding move, veteran left-hander Steven Matz has been activated off the bereavement leave list. Matz will pitch against the Giants in San Francisco this weekend.

After struggling for a few seasons, Wainright has seemingly been able to revamp his career since the beginning of 2020. Last season, he finished seventh in the NL Cy Young voting with a 17-7 record and a 3.05 ERA. He's started the 2022 season off well, as he has a 3.18 ERA in six starts despite going just 3-3.

The Cardinals have gotten off to a decent start as a team, as they headed into Friday's action at 15-10. While there's still months left to play, they're currently positioned with one of the three NL Wild Card spots. The Cards sit 2.5 games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers.

Meanwhile, Matz's return comes at the perfect time with Wainwright missing at least two starts. Ace Jack Flaherty has yet to pitch this season, as he continues to recover from a shoulder injury. Matz, a longtime Met, seemed to put things together in 2021 with the Blue Jays. In 29 starts, he won a career-high 14 games to go along with a stellar 3.82 ERA and 3.79 FIP. In five starts with the Cardinals this season, he's 3-1 with a 4.56 ERA. His 2.12 FIP suggests better times ahead, as he's allowed just one homer in 23.2 innings in addition to an uptick in strikeouts.

Wainright's absence will be missed, but it shouldn't be any longer than two weeks. It comes as a sigh of relief, as the reasoning for his IL stint wasn't initially announced. In the meantime, the veteran must be symptom-free and return two negative Covid-19 tests before returning to the Cardinals.