St. Louis Cardinals Place Kevin Siegrist on 15-Day DL, Recall Sam Tuivailala

The St. Louis Cardinals placedKevin Siegriston the 15-day disabled list Friday and recalledSam Tuivailalafrom 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, whoMike Mathenyinitially announced as part of a possible closer-by-committee setup when the Cardinals demotedTrevor Rosenthalfrom 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 withRandy Choatenot 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 Lyonsfigures 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.

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The tougher decision weighing on Matheny will be who to replace Siegrist with in late-inning leverage situations.Jonathan Broxtonhad 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.

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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.

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