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St. Louis Cardinals Option LHP Marco Gonzales to Triple-A Memphis

By Patrick Karraker

Sep 1, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Marco Gonzales (56) is removed from the game after giving up four earned runs to the Washington Nationals during the third inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 1, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Marco Gonzales (56) is removed from the game after giving up four earned runs to the Washington Nationals during the third inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Cardinals sent former first-rounder Marco Gonzales back to Triple-A, continuing what’s been an odd fall from prominence for the 24-year-old.

The St. Louis Cardinals optioned lefthanded pitcher Marco Gonzales to Triple-A Memphis on Monday afternoon, just hours after he completed a two-inning start against the Boston Red Sox, during which he took the loss while giving up two earned runs on two hits and two walks.

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Gonzales had a 4.66 ERA, 1.97 WHIP, and .318 opponent batting average in five appearances this spring.

Gonzales certainly has time left to reach his ceiling, but the decision to demote him (which was not at all unexpected, perhaps other than the early timing of the move) continues the unexpected slide that Gonzales’s prospect status has taken over the past year. A year ago, Gonzales came into major-league camp fighting for the Cardinals’ fifth starter job, and right around this time it looked like he would win it. However, Carlos Martinez rebounded from a slow start to the spring and ended up surpassing Gonzales on the depth chart.

Gonzales was consequently optioned to Triple-A, where he was expected to remain in waiting as the Cardinals’ “sixth starter”. Gonzales was shut down during the early part of the season with an injury to his throwing shoulder, though, and he didn’t return to pitching until early July. During that time, Jaime Garcia unexpectedly recovered from the chronic shoulder injuries that had plagued him for several years and became one of the league’s best lefthanded starters, while Tim Cooney also joined the big-league club for a spell and proved himself as a worthy major-league contributor. Over 18 minor-league games (including two rehab starts each at High-A Palm Beach and Double-A Springfield), Gonzales had a disappointing 1-5 record, 4.69 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, and 3.11 opponent batting average.

He was promoted to the majors for a spot start on September 1, but he was roughed up, allowing four earned runs on seven hits and a walk over 2.2 innings. He was optioned back to Triple-A the next day and didn’t return to the bigs for the rest of the season. This year, Gonzales came into the rotation with no chance at a rotation spot and just a fringe chance of challenging Tyler Lyons for a bullpen spot, but those efforts obviously were unsuccessful. Now, he’ll head back to Triple-A and is expected to be the Memphis Redbirds’ top starter, at least until top prospect Alex Reyes finishes a drug suspension.

Gonzales will likely have a chance to prove himself at some point during 2016, as he currently looks to be the favorite over Cooney and Lyons to be the Cardinals’ “sixth starter” when needed. With that said, it will still be hard to justify giving Gonzales a rotation spot next season. Adam Wainwright, Carlos Martinez, Michael Wacha, Mike Leake, and Lance Lynn will all be under contract, and considering the sky-high value of starting pitching these days, it still seems likely that the Cardinals will pick up Jaime Garcia’s $12 million-dollar option for next year. In addition, Reyes–who is widely considered to be a better starting prospect than Gonzales–should be big-league ready by that point, and despite his lesser prospect status, Cooney has already had better success as a big-league starter than Gonzales, so he should push for a role as well.

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Kevin Siegrist doesn’t appear to be going anywhere, and it appears that Lyons is going to get a chance to prove himself as a lefty reliever this year in the Cardinals’ bullpen. Still, though, Gonzales’s best chance to break through on the Cards’ big-league staff may be as a reliever. Gonzales joined the bullpen for the stretch run in 2014, holding hitters to a .133 batting average in nine innings while posting a 3.00 ERA. G0nzales also was a member of the Cardinals’ bullpen that postseason, limiting batters to four hits and two walks in six innings of relief, though he did allow three earned runs while blowing a save in Game 4 of the NLCS.

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It does help Gonzales that he’ll be eligible for a fourth option year due to the fact that he’s now used up the standard three within the first five years of his professional career. That means the Cardinals can move him back and forth between the majors and Triple-A in 2017 if he doesn’t entrench himself in a full-time role during the coming season.

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