St. Louis Cardinals Place Kevin Siegrist on 15-Day DL, Recall Sam Tuivailala
The St. Louis Cardinals placed Kevin Siegrist on the 15-day disabled list Friday and recalled Sam Tuivailala from Triple-A Memphis.
In what has been a shockingly stable season for the St. Louis Cardinals’ pitching staff, they were finally forced to make a shakeup on Friday, as lefty Kevin Siegrist was placed on the 15-day disabled list with mononucleosis. Hard-throwing righthander Sam Tuivailala was recalled from Triple-A Memphis to replace him on the roster.
Siegrist, who Mike Matheny initially announced as part of a possible closer-by-committee setup when the Cardinals demoted Trevor Rosenthal from the role last Saturday, will be a major loss for the team, even if he’s only out for a short period. Though he’s been somewhat miscast as a lefty specialist with Randy Choate not in the bullpen this year–he’s had a reverse split for three straight seasons now, performing better against righthanded hitters than he does against lefties–Siegrist has been a major part of the Cardinals’ late-inning bullpen strategy, often throwing in the seventh and eighth innings.
Though his opponent batting average is slightly higher against lefties, he’s been dominant against hitters from both sides this year, holding hitters to a .179 average while posting a 0.96 WHIP in 32 1/3 innings. In his absence, Tyler Lyons figures to become the Cardinals’ top option against tough lefties, which probably makes more sense anyway since Lyons is holding lefties to a .111 average and 0.53 WHIP.
More from Arch Authority
- St. Louis Cardinals: Randal Grichuk to begin Double-A rehab stint
- John Brebbia deserves a shot as the St. Louis Cardinals’ closer
- St. Louis Cardinals place Randal Grichuk on DL, recall José Martínez
- St. Louis Cardinals release RHP Corey Baker from organization
- St. Louis Cardinals activate Kolten Wong and Kevin Siegrist from DL, option Luke Weaver and Alex Mejia to Triple-A
The tougher decision weighing on Matheny will be who to replace Siegrist with in late-inning leverage situations. Jonathan Broxton had a dominant June and could pick up some of Siegrist’s responsibilities, but he’s been somewhat erratic over his time in St. Louis and can’t really be trusted in the same way that Siegrist can.
It’s also possible that Matheny could opt to start using Rosenthal in pressure situations again. The flamethrower has thrown very well in three appearances since being removed from the ninth-inning role. One other option could be Tuivailala, a 23-year-old who pitched exceptionally well (2.45 ERA, .154 opponent average, eight strikeouts and four walks over seven and one-third innings) in late and close situations last year at the big-league level.
Next: Former Prospect Friday: John Gast
Though he was selected as a Triple-A All-Star, Tuivailala hasn’t exactly been lights-out for Memphis this year. In 29 games, he has a 5.06 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, and .232 opponent average, and he’s blown three of 16 save opportunities.