St. Louis Cardinals to Promote Three Players as Triple-A Season Wraps Up
The St. Louis Cardinals will add two bullpen arms and an extra bench bat as the Triple-A season comes to a close.
As the St. Louis Post-Dispatch‘s Derrick Goold first reported on Monday, the St. Louis Cardinals will promote righthanded pitchers Sam Tuivailala and Mike Mayers and outfielder/first baseman Jose Martinez from Triple-A Memphis on Tuesday. All three players wrapped up their minor-league season as the Redbirds defeated the Round Rock Express on Monday morning.
Tuivailala and Mayers both pitched for the big-league club earlier this year, while Martinez will be making his major-league debut.
Tuivailala has received the most extensive major-league action, posting a 9.00 ERA, 2.17 WHIP, and .379 opponent batting average over six innings in eight appearances.
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Despite the 23-year-old’s lack of big-league results, though, there’s optimism that he’ll eventually be able to straighten out his approach and make good use of his high-90s fastball.
Despite a strong minor-league campaign this year–a 9-10 record with a 3.19 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, and .256 opponent average over 25 starts split between Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis–Mayers got knocked around in his first and only big-league opportunity, allowing nine earned runs on eight hits and two walks over a start that lasted just an inning and a third on July 24. Goold wrote that the Cardinals want to get Mayers “a better taste” of the big leagues after his rough beginning earlier this year.
Next: Cardinals Add Brayan Pena, Carson Kelly to Big-League Roster
The 28-year-old Martinez, who was the Pacific Coast League batting champion last year while hitting .384 for the Omaha Storm Chasers, will finally make his major-league debut after 10 minor-league seasons. The 6-foot-6, 215-pound Martinez, who is much more of a contact-first hitter than his body might indicate, was acquired via trade from the Royals organization earlier this year after he became the victim of a 40-man roster crunch, and he’s performed well at Memphis since then. Martinez, who hit .269/.326/.415 with eight homers in 329 plate appearances at Memphis, should provide the Cardinals with a much-needed right-handed pinch hitter. Besides recently-activated switch hitter Brayan Peña, the Cardinals have often had to rely on Tommy Pham for their righty pinch-hitting needs since injuries forced Jedd Gyorko and Randal Grichuk into the everyday lineup.