The St. Louis Cardinals placed first baseman Brandon Moss on the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday because of a left ankle sprain, per MLB Roster Moves.
St. Louis recalled outfielder Randal Grichuk from Triple-A to take Moss’ spot on the roster while he recovers.
Continue for updates.
Moss Most Likely Out Until After All-Star Break
Tuesday, July 5
Moss suffered the injury during Monday’s contest against the Pittsburgh Pirates while running the bases. Though he was able to stay in the game, he awoke with pain in his ankle on Tuesday, per Mark Saxon of ESPN.com. Saxon noted Moss received X-rays and met with a foot specialist, who revealed that it was a Grade 1 sprain.
Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak spoke with Saxon about a possible timetable for Moss’ return: “I think the likelihood of him being back before the All-Star break was questionable, and we certainly didn’t want to play short the rest of the way. When you see him later tonight, he’ll be in a boot, and we just have to be patient.”
In his first full season in St. Louis, the 6’1″, 210-pound left-handed bat has been the Cardinals’ best power hitter with 17 home runs and 40 RBI:
Entering Tuesday night, his 17 home runs tied for 13th in the National League. Considering the Cardinals had to give up just one minor leaguer to get Moss from the Cleveland Indians during last year’s trade deadline, he’s already surpassed expectations.
Moss also has 1.3 wins above replacement through 75 games, which ranks fifth on the team.
He’s also proved his worth thanks to his versatility in the field, as he’s played first base, left field and right field throughout the season.
Grichuk, who is set to take Moss’ spot on the roster, was the team’s Opening Day starter in center field, but he was batting .206 through 62 games before the Cardinals sent him to Triple-A.
Since his demotion, he’s batting .283 with five home runs in 15 games, per Saxon.
Moss’ absence doesn’t affect things on the field for the Cardinals. Matt Adams will stay the starter at first base, while Stephen Piscotty patrols right field. But without Moss’ bat in the lineup, the Cardinals could have trouble scoring runs, which would only make their 8.5-game deficit behind the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central even worse.
Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.
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