St. Louis Cardinals Recall Catcher Ed Easley from Triple-A Memphis
When the St. Louis Cardinals’ minor-league teams ended their seasons earlier this week, the team stated that righthanded pitcher Sam Tuivailala would be the final player called up as the team expanded its roster for the stretch run. Those plans evidently changed on Friday, as catcher Ed Easley was promoted to the major-league roster.
Easley, a 29-year-old former first-rounder, finally made his major-league debut in 2015, his ninth professional season. Easley spent 24 days on the major-league roster earlier this year but played in just two games, pinch-hitting on May 29 against the Los Angeles Dodgers and seeing his first and only action behind the plate on June 8 during a blowout loss to the Colorado Rockies. He was 0-for-2 at the plate during his big-league tenure.
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Easley, a righthanded hitter, seemed to have fallen behind lefty-hitting catcher Cody Stanley on the organizational depth chart, as Stanley was recalled when rosters expanded on September 1 and has since played in six games as a pinch-hitter and a reserve catcher during blowouts. Unless the club has for some reason lost faith in Stanley, who is 4-for-10 with three RBI as a major-leaguer, Easley will be with the team to serve as the fourth-string catcher behind Yadier Molina, Tony Cruz, and Stanley.
Of course, there’s also the possibility that there could be some type of injury concern with either Cruz or Stanley, which would explain the odd timing of the move, with Easley coming back four days after the minor-league season ended. It’s also conceivable that the team might want another emergency backup at catcher just because Cruz has moved into the backup third baseman role with Kolten Wong injured and Matt Carpenter temporarily moving to second. With the Cardinals getting shelled twice in the past week–Monday against the Cubs and Thursday night against the Reds–Cruz has seen action at third on both occasions.
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With Easley seemingly in the clear for the moment now that he’s on the major-league roster, first baseman Xavier Scruggs and infielder Dean Anna should probably be worried about their respective futures in the Cardinals organization. Relief pitcher Matt Belisle, and possibly starter Adam Wainwright if he delivers on his vow to return to the mound this season, will be activated from the 60-day disabled list this month, and the Cardinals will need to clear 40-man roster space to make room. Besides lefty pitchers Marco Gonzales, one of the team’s top prospects, and Tim Cooney, who would almost certainly be in the majors right now if not for an unfortunate appendicitis, and catcher Mike Ohlman, who had a great season in Double-A and is headed for the Arizona Fall League, Scruggs and Anna are the only realistic candidates to be designated for assignment as the team clears up roster spots.