St. Louis Cardinals: Which Players Will Join the Roster in September?

Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

Matt Adams, 1B

Though it originally looked like he would miss the remainder of the season after tearing his quad in late May, Adams is now expected to be back for the stretch run and will likely begin a rehab assignment this week. It’s possible that Adams could rejoin the big-league club before September 1, though it would surely be helpful for him to get five or six rehab games under his belt in order to get back in a rhythm following roughly three months of inactivity. The Cardinals will be counting on Adams, who will be a major upgrade over the current first base tandem of Mark Reynolds and Brandon Moss if he bounces back to his usual form. That’s not a given, as Adams had just a .656 OPS before his injury, but if he can at least make consistent contact, he’ll quickly be the Cards’ best option at first, at least until the team is healthy enough to deploy an outfield of Matt Holliday, Randal Grichuk, and Jason Heyward with Stephen Piscotty at first.

Next: Xavier Scruggs, 1B/OF