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The St. Louis Cardinals announced on Tuesday they have purchased right-handed pitcher Alex Reyes from the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds. 

He is taking up the spot left by starting pitcher Michael Wacha, who went on the 15-day disabled list due to shoulder inflammation. 

Reyes has made 14 appearances this season in Triple-A, where he went 2-3 with a 4.96 ERA, via MiLB.com. 

Despite those numbers, the 21-year-old was still ranked as the Cardinals’ No. 1 prospect and the No. 9 player in the entire minor leagues by MLB Pipeline after going undrafted out of Elizabeth, New Jersey, in 2012. 

MLB Pipeline broke down what the 6’3″ Reyes can bring to the Cardinals rotation:

The big right-hander has serious swing-and-miss stuff, with a fastball that touches the mid-90s consistently and can hit triple digits to complement a devastating power curveball. Unlike some young pitchers, Reyes is willing to throw his changeup and understands the value of having it to make his two plus offerings better. Though it’s behind the other two, it should be Major League average in time.  

However, he has run into some off-field issues, as he was hit with a 50-day suspension in November 2015 due to a second failed test for recreational drugs, which forced him to sit until May 22. 

To Reyes, that time off didn’t affect him when he spoke with Joe Paisley of the Gazette: “I don’t believe it has slowed my progress at all. I am doing my best to learn everything I can. There are a lot of hitters with major league experience so this is a real step up from Double-A. I have gone deeper and deeper into games. I feel good about my progress but know I have more to learn.”

The Cardinals will be hoping that Reyes can live up to the hype, but it will be from out of the bullpen, according to David Wilhelm of the Belleville News-Democrat. 

It would be somewhat of a surprising move if that were to happen. The Cardinals’ starting five of Wacha, Adam Wainwright, Mike Leake, Jaime Garcia and Carlos Martinez had remained relatively untouched all season. Each pitcher had started over 20 games, with just one other pitcher, Mike Mayers, starting a single game. So there hasn’t been a regular No. 6 starter at all this year. 

Entering Tuesday night 11 games behind the Chicago Cubs, the National League Central crown looks lost, but the Cardinals’ playoff hopes aren’t. The NL wild-card race is still wide-open, as they are tied for the final spot with the Miami Marlins, who are four games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

If Reyes is able to bring some plus stuff to the Cardinals out of the bullpen, they could gain some momentum the deeper they get into August. 

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

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The St. Louis Cardinals placed reliever Trevor Rosenthal on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with a right shoulder injury. 

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Struggling Rosenthal on DL with Shoulder Inflammation

Tuesday, July 26 

The team recalled Dean Kiekhefer from Triple-A Memphis as Rosenthal‘s replacement on the major league roster. Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reported Rosenthal is dealing with inflammation in his rotator cuff.

Rosenthal, 26, is 2-4 with a 5.13 ERA and 2.04 WHIP in 40 appearances. An All-Star in 2015, Rosenthal has struggled all season and lost his closer job to Seung Hwan Oh in June.

“I’m not the first person this has happened to,” Rosenthal said, per Mark Saxon of ESPN.com. “I’m not going to be the last person, and all these guys know I work my butt off and I try every day. It’s all I can control.”

Rosenthal‘s performance hasn’t improved since being removed from ninth-inning duties. He was 0-1 with a blown save and a 5.68 ERA in the month of July and needed 32 pitches to get through one inning in his last appearance, a June 24 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Jonathan Broxton should see an increased workload with Rosenthal out, but this may put the Cardinals on the market for a late-inning reliever. Broxton (2-2, 3.89 ERA) has been shaky for most of the season; Oh’s been their only shutdown option overall. With another handful of days before the Aug. 1 deadline, don’t be surprised if St. Louis is working the phones.

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St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday suffered a facial abrasion in his nose and upper lip area after being hit by a pitch in Thursday’s game against the San Diego Padres. However, he has been cleared to return.

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Holliday Active vs. Dodgers

Friday, July 22

The Cardinals announced Holliday will play against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday.

Injuries Continue to Surface for Holliday

Holliday battled lower-back tightness right after the season started in April, but he’s otherwise been healthy following a 2015 campaign that was littered with injuries. 

A year ago, Holliday was limited to just 73 appearances as he battled a right quadriceps injury that hindered his availability throughout the summer. He finished the abbreviated campaign with a .279 batting average, four home runs and 35 RBI.

Prior to the injury, Holliday was batting .244 with 17 home runs and 55 RBI. He’s also posted an on-base percentage of .319.

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St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Jhonny Peralta continues to have thumb problems this season, causing him to miss more time. 

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Peralta Placed on DL   

Tuesday, July 19

The Cardinals announced via Twitter that they placed Peralta on the 15-day disabled list and brought up Jeremy Hazelbaker and Miguel Socolovich from Triple-A. 

St. Louis held Peralta out of the lineup on Monday against the San Diego Padres because of his thumb problems. 

“Jhonny’s sore,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said at the time, per David Wilhelm of the Belleville News-Democrat. “We needed to get him out (Sunday). With some of the check swings or the swings and misses, something’s still kind of grabbing there. He had it looked at (Monday), and the doctors can see it’s still flared up a bit.”

Peralta had surgery on his left thumb to repair a torn ligament in March that kept him out until June 7. He’s struggled in the 30 games since his return, hitting just .221/.258/.416. 

MLB.com’s Steve Dorsey reported at the time the three-time All-Star was expected to be out for 10 to 12 weeks:

Peralta’s most recent injury would present a problem for the Cardinals were it not for the emergence of Aledmys Diaz, who has been excellent at shortstop. Diaz is batting .315 with 13 homers and 49 RBI, so Matheny will feel confident installing him back in the lineup to replace Peralta.

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St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Matt Carpenter suffered a right oblique injury during Wednesday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the team announced. He was placed on the disabled list on Thursday, and it is unclear when he’ll return to the field. 

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Carpenter Placed on 15-Day DL

Thursday, July 7

The Cardinals announced catcher Michael McKenry would take Carpenter’s place on the active roster.  

Matheny Comments on Carpenter Injury

Wednesday, July 6

“I have a high level of concern,” said Cardinals manager Mike Matheny regarding the injury, per Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, who added Carpenter will have an MRI to determine the severity.

Carpenter Has Been Extremely Durable with Cardinals 

This is a concerning setback for Carpenter, because durability has been one of his calling cards during his career. He had played in at least 154 games in each of the last three years coming into the 2016 campaign.

The 2013 and 2014 All-Star is one of the best hitters in the Cardinals lineup. He won the 2013 Silver Slugger Award with a .318 average and a National League-leading 199 hits but became more of a power force during the 2015 season.

Carpenter had not hit more than 11 long balls in a season before last year, but he erupted for 28 homers and 84 RBI as one of the anchors of the Cardinals lineup in 2015. He helped his team win the National League Central over the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs, who had to settle for wild-card spots.

Thus far, Carpenter has a strong case to make as the National League MVP front-runner in 2016. After Wednesday’s game, he is leading the NL with a .420 on-base percentage and ranks sixth with a .568 slugging percentage in addition to a .298 average with 14 home runs and 53 RBI.

St. Louis will likely turn to Kolten Wong if Carpenter misses significant time. Wong has struggled mightily this season, including a nearly two-week demotion to Triple-A. 

Elsewhere, Jedd Gyorko is a versatile option who can play all over the infield and fill the void while Carpenter recovers. Gyorko did start at first base on Wednesday with Brandon Moss on the disabled list, so Matheny’s bench is being tested. 

While St. Louis has a couple of options to replace Carpenter, it has a more dangerous lineup with the power-hitting second baseman taking the field every day.

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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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Pitchers announcing their candidacy for the Home Run Derby is the latest trend in Major League Baseball, and St. Louis Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright officially threw his hat in the ring Tuesday.

After San Francisco Giants lefty Madison Bumgarner and Chicago Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta previously revealed their desire to be part of the contest, Wainwright tweeted about it Sunday:

According to MLB.com’s Nick Krueger, Wainwright confirmed he is serious: “I’m ready if they call. If in fact there was a one-millionth of a chance to get in it, I wanted to let the world know that I wanted to be a part of it.”

The 34-year-old righty has performed well at the plate this season, hitting .261 with one homer and 10 RBI in just 23 at-bats. He has hit seven home runs in his 11-year career.

Wainwright missed nearly the entire 2015 season with a torn Achilles, which he suffered while batting, and Cards manager Mike Matheny is wary about one of his top pitchers potentially putting himself in danger, per Krueger.

“I don’t see a whole lot of good that comes from that,” Matheny said. “It’s the break, they’re going to have fun, but I see somebody falling down swinging really hard. If Waino was in there, he would fall into that category, but he puts on a good show in BP.”

Wainwright said the risk of injury is minimal: “There’s probably more chance of a pitcher going out and hurting himself pitching in a game than hitting batting practice. We do this every day, it’s not like they’re going out there and asking us to go out and do something we don’t ever do. We hit on the field quite a bit.”

Bumgarner, who has 13 career home runs, started the pitcher Home Run Derby trend on June 7, when he told ESPN’s Buster Olney about his intentions. Arrieta followed a few days later.

With support for pitchers in the Derby mounting, Olney revealed on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball (h/t SI.com) that Major League Baseball has considered holding a pitchers-only Home Run Derby, perhaps pitting Bumgarner against New York Mets hurler Noah Syndergaard.

There’s bound to be some interest in seeing Wainwright, Arrieta, Bumgarner and Syndergaard facing off.

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St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter suffered a finger injury during Thursday night’s game against the Cincinnati Reds. However, he will not miss any additional game action. 

Continue for more updates.

Carpenter Active vs. Pirates

Friday, June 10

Carpenter is in Friday’s starting lineup against the Pittsburgh Pirates, according to Jim Hayes of Fox Sports Midwest. 

Carpenter Enjoying Strong Season for Cardinals 

He jammed his finger during an at-bat in the sixth inning of Thursday night’s game. Manager Mike Matheny took him out of the game because he didn’t know if Carpenter would be able to make the throws from third base to first, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Heading into Thursday night, Carpenter was one of the Cardinals’ most productive hitters, as he was batting .280 with nine home runs and 39 RBI.

He is a two-time All-Star who led the National League in hits during the 2013 season with 199, which gave him a career-high .318 average. But his game has evolved since then. While his average has dropped, his power numbers have spiked.

Carpenter slugged a career-high 28 home runs last season, 17 more than his previous best from 2013. He also added a career-high 84 RBI and 44 doubles, which led the league.

Fox Sports’ Dave Cameron delved into the evolution of Carpenter’s play:

Previously, Carpenter would yank one over the fence if you threw him a centered-fastball. This year, though, he’s hitting fastballs up in the zone, plus hanging breaking balls and two-seamers running in on the inside corner. Carpenter has never really hit the inside pitch with authority before, but likely at the encouragement of his teammates, he has learned to turn on pitches inside and is now more willing to go after high-risk/high-reward pitches up in the zone.

His durability has been another invaluable asset to the Cardinals. In each of the past three seasons, Carpenter has played in at least 154 games.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

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Player: Delvin Perez

Position: SS

DOB: November 24, 1998 (17 years old)

Height/Weight: 6’3″, 165 lbs

Bats/Throws: R/R

School: International Baseball Academy (Puerto Rico)

College Commitment: None

Background

Last June, a total of seven shortstops were selected in the first round of the draft.

Dansby Swanson (Vanderbilt), Alex Bregman (LSU) and Brendan Rodgers (Lake Mary HS) were the first three players off the board, followed by Kevin Newman (Arizona, No. 19 overall), Richie Martin (Florida, No. 20 overall), Kyle Holder (San Diego, No. 30 overall) and Ryan Mountcastle (Paul J. Hagerty HS, No. 36 overall).

This year, Delvin Perez appeared to be the only lock at the position to go in the first round.

In fact, Wisconsin high schooler Gavin Lux and Florida Atlantic standout C.J. Chatham looked like the only other threats to go inside the first 50 picks.

However, that all changed when a report surfaced Tuesday, per John Manuel and J.J. Cooper of Baseball America, that Perez had tested positive for “an undisclosed performance enhancer” in his predraft drug test.

Jon Heyman, writing for Today’s Knuckleball and citing sources, was the first to report the failed test.

The failed test doesn’t affect his ability to be selected in the draft but raises some obvious red flags for any team considering him with an early selection.

He’s still an elite talent, though, and if this is in fact just an isolated incident and he develops into the player some expect him to become, he could wind up being an absolute steal.

Pick Analysis

When it comes to evaluating prep shortstops, the biggest question is always whether they have the defensive skill set to remain at the position long-term.

That doesn’t appear to be a concern with Perez.

“His defense is obviously there,” one scout told Alyson Footer of MLB.com. “It’ll take time to see how much he hits. It’s the hardest thing to project, because it’s the hardest thing to do. But he’s where he needs to be with his speed and defense.”

Baseball America offered up a more complete scouting report in its predraft report, ranking Perez as the No. 8 prospect in the class:

There are few questions about Perez’s ability to stay at shortstop; he shows first-step quickness, range to both sides, a plus or better arm, athleticism and smooth infield actions. He has excellent instincts and can make highlight reel plays look easy, though his quick feet and powerful arm can be difficult for him to control at times.

Perez is not as advanced offensively. He is a plus runner with excellent bat speed and can hit blistering line drives, but his pitch recognition and plate discipline will need to improve to allow him to make consistent contact. As a result, he is one of the biggest risk-reward players in the class.

This came before the failed test, so his standing as a risk-reward pick has only been magnified. Still, it’s clear that the 17-year-old Perez has the tools scouts look for in an early shortstop selection.

Pro Comparison: Francisco Lindor

Francisco Lindor has developed into a budding superstar for the Cleveland Indians, but he was not always a sure thing to make the sort of impact he has at the plate.

The No. 8 pick in the 2011 draft, Lindor was drafted on the strength of his plus-plus defensive tools and his overall athleticism. There was plenty of offensive potential to project on, but that part of his game was still raw, and his eventual ceiling was somewhat unclear.

After steadily improving at the plate as he worked his way through the minors, Lindor burst on the scene last year with a .313/.353/.482 line and 38 extra-base hits in 438 plate appearances to finish second in AL Rookie of the Year voting and post a 4.6 WAR, per Baseball-Reference.com.

He’s backed up that breakout performance with another strong showing at the plate here in 2016, and in the process has quickly emerged as one of the top shortstops in the league.

Lindor is probably a best-case scenario for what Perez can develop into, but the similarities between where the two players were at in their respective development on draft day are tough to ignore.

Projection: Starting shortstop, Gold Glove-caliber defender

Major League ETA: late 2021

Chances of Signing: 99 percent

Considering he doesn’t have a college commitment, it seems Perez is set to begin his pro career regardless of his draft position.

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The St. Louis Cardinals announced Monday that they have optioned second baseman Kolten Wong to the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds. 

Instead of promoting someone else from the minors to fill Wong’s spot on the roster, the Cardinals expect veteran infielder Jhonny Peralta to come off the disabled list Tuesday.

Wong has appeared in 49 games this season with a slash line of .222/.306/.286, one home run and five RBI.

The move to send Wong down is rather surprising since St. Louis just signed him to a five-year, $25.5 million extension in spring training.

Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch weighed in on the notable transaction:

But it appears as though the club is intent on shaking up its infield, the makeup of which was recently revealed.

ESPN.com’s Mark Saxon reported last Friday the plans that Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak had for when Peralta returned from the DL. Rookie Aledmys Diaz is slated to stay at shortstop, while Matt Carpenter will take over at second base and Peralta will move to third following a recovery from left thumb surgery.

“Clearly, it comes down to performance. At any point, if he were to take off and get moving, he would find playing time,” Mozeliak said of Wong, per Saxon. “It’s always about finding that piece that, from a trajectory standpoint, is going up. Right now, I think that’s the only position we’re sort of struggling with.”

Per Saxon, Carpenter spoke with St. Louis skipper Mike Matheny and was receptive to playing second. Diaz has earned his spot as an everyday starter with a .328 batting average, eight homers and 30 RBI thus far.

After winning the National League Central each of the prior three seasons, the Cardinals find themselves trailing the Chicago Cubs by 10 games entering Monday’s action.

There is still plenty of season left, but St. Louis appears intent on making up ground with a big push before next month’s All-Star break.

Unless Diaz hits the rookie wall and goes through a huge slump—or another injury occurs—Wong’s outlook to return for the second half of the 2016 campaign seems bleak, barring a monster Triple-A stint.

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