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Retired? Hardly.

Wainwright was in an airport. He had just grabbed his bag. Staying busy would be an understatement.

He’s coaching his kids’ baseball and softball teams. Hopefully other parents realize volunteer coach Wainwright would be coveted by some MLB teams as a pitching coach.

He’s playing live country music shows after dropping his first album last month. He recently took the iconic stage at the Grand Ole Opry. His in-progress schedule includes an upcoming stop at Hammons Field in Springfield, Mo., on May 31.

And then there’s Wainwright’s growing TV game.

On Saturday during a game between the Mets and Rays he will make his regular-season debut as a Fox MLB analyst on a game that is to be shown to 82% of the nation. Wainwright, for the record, disagrees with the debut label here. He’s already been a regular on Fox postseason broadcasts, even before his 200-win career wrapped with his 2023 retirement.

“Playoff stats don’t count for the regular season, so I guess I am,� he said.

It’s really just his latest TV step forward. He’s received great reviews during regular visits to MLB Network’s studio. He will be on the broadcast for this season’s London Series between the Phillies and Mets.

Another big game looms. On Saturday May 25, Wainwright will be the analyst for the Fox broadcast of Cardinals versus Cubs at Busch Stadium. That one’s circled on his crammed calendar.

“It won’t be like just invading John Rooney’s booth during the game, like I’ve done a couple times,� Wainwright said. “This will be different. I’m excited about it. I’ll be able to offer some insight into our team. And those Cubs guys. I’ve faced those guys a lot.�

Wainwright, the analyst, has picked the brains of former players turned Cardinals broadcasters Ricky Horton and Brad Thompson. He’s leaned on personal advice given to him by the late Vin Scully and Bob Uecker. Both encouraged him to be honest and candid about player performance without making things personal. Wainwright’s finding his line.

“For me, at some point, during the last five or six seasons, I started paying attention to a broadcaster’s job and a journalist’s job, and understanding that,� he said. “Because sometimes, as a player, you want to hold a grudge when somebody says something bad about you or your team, or whatever. But at some point I understand, y’all had a job to do. That’s what I’ll do. I’ll go and try to be unbiased.�

Even when it’s Cardinals-Cubs?

“That’s not going to happen,� he admitted. “I’m going to probably say, ‘Yeah!’ or ‘Oh, no!’ But I’ll call the game as I see it.�

Wainwright watches most of the Cardinals’ games. It’s his preferred way of keeping up on the league. That, and he’s still invested. He doesn’t hide it.

“I still feel kind of like I’m part of the team,� he said. “It feels like I’m on the injured list or something. Because I know all those guys so well in there.�

He’s watching the games. He knows the team. So, what does Waino, the analyst, make of this fourth-place bunch that, so far, just can’t seem to slug?

“I was up at MLB Network on opening day, and everybody’s concern from a broadcaster and analyst side was the pitching staff,� he said. “I talked until I was blue in the face that the pitching staff was going to be fine. And no one believed me. I said, ‘They’re better than you think, man. These veteran guys, they stay in there. They throw the innings. They keep the team in the game. If we hit, we are going to win.’ And they were like, ‘You’re crazy, your team is going to score tons of runs, and give up tons of runs, and it’s going to be a total crapshoot.’ And I just didn’t believe that.�

Score one for Wainwright there. He spent years trying to recruit both Sonny Gray and Kyle Gibson to St. Louis. He said he never wanted Lance Lynn to leave. He was one of the few national voices squarely in the corner of Gibson entering his age-36 season. Gibson’s ERA (3.79) is nearly as low right now as it was when he was a Rangers All-Star in 2021.

“Gibby is a Cardinal,� Wainwright said. “He’s always been a Cardinals player to me. I couldn’t figure out for one second why he wasn’t with us the last five years. It’s so fun to watch him pitch good, because I knew he would.�

But not even Wainwright’s optimism, as much a part of his arsenal as his trusty curveball used to be, can shed much sunlight on the current state of the offense, except to say good hitters usually shake out of slumps so bad.

“I did think we were going to hit a little better coming out of the chute than we have,� Wainwright said.

You can say that again.

Before they begin a series against the lowly White Sox (6-25) on Friday, the Cardinals’ home run total of 21 ranked dead last in baseball. Their .338 slugging percentage trailed only the Pirates in the National League. The Pirates have three wins in their last 16 games. So far this season the MLB average for on-base plus slugging percentage is .699. The Cardinals have only three hitters above that mark, and none of them are named Nolan Arenado (.681), Paul Goldschmidt (.630) or last year’s home-run leader Nolan Gorman (.607).

“I don’t think I’m concerned for the long-term season whether Goldy, Nado and Gorman will hit for power,� Wainwright said. “Those guys are going to start driving the ball real soon. I mean, the veteran pitchers are doing what they need to do to be in first place in that division. When those guys in the order come around, when we get Tommy Edman and Dylan Carlson back, and everything feels normal again, then I think you will see a team that takes off a little bit.�

Wainwright wanted to make one point, specifically about the searching Goldschmidt. When Goldschmidt won his first and only National League MVP with the Cardinals in 2022, he entered that May with one home run in 78 at-bats and a slugging percentage of .372. Then he averaged .342 with a .430 on-base percentage and a .666 slugging percentage until September’s start.

“There are players who have strong springs and horrible Aprils,� Wainwright said. “It happens a lot. Some people have horrible springs and Aprils. Adam LaRoche was always the worst player I’ve ever seen in April and spring training. Then he would turn around and end up hitting close to 30 home runs with a .270 average. The last couple of years, Goldy has done that. With Nado, you can tell he’s working through his swing a little bit. No denying it. But he’s still getting on base, driving in runs, getting his knocks. When great players are struggling and they still find ways to get knocks, that’s a really good sign.�

I’ll say this about Wainwright, the analyst. Considering the current heightened state of angst in Cardinal Nation, he’s not afraid to go against the grain. He was right about Gibson. Let’s see if he’s right about the Cardinals finding their slug, hopefully before he slides into his broadcast booth at Busch.