The St. Louis Cardinals placed shortstop Aledmys Diaz on the disabled list with a hairline fracture in his right thumb, per MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch.
Continue for updates.
Thumb Injury May Keep Diaz out Beyond DL Stint
Monday, Aug. 1
Diaz suffered the injury Sunday afternoon against the Miami Marlins. An Andrew Cashner fastball hit him in the right hand. After initially attempting to stay in the game, Diaz exited, with Tommy Pham taking his place in the lineup.
“From the moment I got hit, I was scared,” Diaz said after the game, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “Thank God it may not be too serious. We’ll have some exams and we’ll know for sure.”
While Diaz was optimistic Sunday about the severity of the problem, Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak was less so Monday. He admitted Diaz could be out longer than 15 days, per Goold.
The 26-year-old Cuban has been a pleasant surprise for St. Louis in 2016. In 96 games, he’s batting .312 with 14 home runs and 57 runs batted in. According to FanGraphs, his 2.5 WAR is tied for ninth among qualified shortstops.
At least the Cardinals have another shortstop coming off the DL to compensate for Diaz‘s injury. Goold reported Jhonny Peralta will start at short Tuesday against the Cincinnati Reds. Peralta isn’t having a great year, but at least he gives manager Mike Matheny a nice alternative to Diaz, all things considered.
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