St. Louis Cardinals Add Three September Call-Ups to Major League Roster
With major-league rosters expanding to a 40-player maximum on Tuesday, the St. Louis Cardinals made three moves, recalling catcher Cody Stanley, righthanded reliever Mitch Harris, and lefty Marco Gonzales, who will start Tuesday night’s game in place of Carlos Martinez, from Triple-A Memphis.
The 23-year-old Gonzales, who was the Cardinals’ top first-rounder in 2013, has had a rough 2015 season, as he’s dealt with multiple stints on the minor-league disabled list and has been rather ineffective when pitching, accumulating a 4.42 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, and .304 opponent average in 17 starts for Memphis. However, he was the team’s best starting option currently available at Triple-A, due to the fact that lefty Tim Cooney is still on the mend from an appendectomy, while lefthander Tyler Lyons is ineligible to be recalled since he was recently optioned to the minors. As long as Martinez’s fatigue and soreness is not prolonged, Gonzales will likely assume a long relief role following his spot start, and he may be a quality option against lefties, who he held to a .143 average in the majors last season.
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Stanley will act as a lefthanded-hitting catcher off the bench and frees up Mike Matheny to use Tony Cruz as either a pinch-hitter or a utility player at other positions. Though the Cardinals now have enough positional depth that it probably wouldn’t be necessary to use Cruz anywhere else except behind the plate, it’s worth noting that the 29-year-old has played in eight career games at third base, including one this season. The 26-year-old Stanley played in three games with the big-league club this April, going 1-for-3 at the plate.
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Harris, who made his major-league debut earlier this season, returns to provide some immediate depth in the Cards’ bullpen. Over 19 big-league appearances this season, Harris has a 3.10 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, and .278 opponent batting average. He did throw three perfect innings during a short stint in early July before sustaining a groin injury which eventually triggered his return to the minors.
Another contingent of players, likely to include Lyons as well as righthanders Miguel Socolovich and Sam Tuivailala, will likely arrive when Memphis’s season concludes on September 7. Lyons and Tuivailala’s eligibility to return to the big-league team is still compromised by MLB’s “10-day rule”, which dictates that players must remain in the minors for ten days after being optioned and reporting to their minor-league team. Since Lyons has not pitched for Memphis since starting on August 25, it figures that he’ll be back in the Cardinals’ bullpen as soon as his 10 days are up.
Next: Which Players Will Join the Cardinals' Roster in September