ST. LOUIS --Adam Wainwright, who has already announced that the 2023 season will be his last before retirement, will make his next start on Thursday against the Mets at Busch Stadium, but he could be removed from the rotation if that outing goes poorly, president John Mozeliak and manager Oliver Marmol said on Monday.

Wainwright, 41, allowed nine hits and eight earned runs in the shortest start of his career on Friday in Kansas City. That poor effort came on the heels of him lasting just three innings and surrendering nine hits and seven earned runs against the Rockies on Aug. 4.

For the season, Wainwright is 3-7 with an 8.78 ERA. He needs just two wins to reach 200 victories, a benchmark reached only by Hall of Famers Bob Gibson and Jesse Haines in franchise history.

“We’ve talked to him, and he understands that he’s got to do better,” Mozeliak said of Wainwright. “He’s appreciative that he’s getting the opportunity [on Thursday], but he understands that things could change [in the future].”

Wainwright, who pitched a season-best 6 1/3 innings in a defeat of the Mets on June 13, has failed in his last seven attempts to nab win No. 199. To try and save his best stuff for his next outing, Wainwright will bypass his bullpen session before facing the Mets on Thursday, Marmol said.

“We sat down, we talked through it, like: ‘Listen, we’re going to take your next start and I’m looking forward to seeing it. And then we’re going to sit down after and reevaluate how it went and go from there,’” Marmol said. “Hopefully, it goes well, and we can keep going. If it doesn’t, we’ll sit down and we’ll have another honest conversation as to what does this really look like moving forward and what’s best? He’s been great about it.”