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St. Louis Cardinals Demote Randal Grichuk in Flurry of Roster Moves

By Patrick Karraker

Jul 16, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Randal Grichuk (15) hits a one run double off of Miami Marlins starting pitcher Tom Koehler (not pictured) during the third inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 16, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Randal Grichuk (15) hits a one run double off of Miami Marlins starting pitcher Tom Koehler (not pictured) during the third inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /
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The St. Louis Cardinals made a host of post-deadline transactions before facing the Reds on Tuesday.

The St. Louis Cardinals announced a flurry of roster moves before Tuesday night’s game in Cincinnati, making a total of six transactions. First baseman/outfielder Brandon Moss and infielder Jhonny Peralta were activated from the 15-day disabled list, while lefthanded reliever Zach Duke–who was acquired from the Chicago White Sox on Sunday–was officially activated.

To make room for those players, shortstop Aledmys Diaz was placed on the DL with a fractured thumb, as had been announced yesterday. In a slightly more surprising move, outfielder Randal Grichuk was sent back to Triple-A Memphis for the second time this season. And as could reasonably be inferred after the Cardinals acquired Duke to compliment fellow lefties Kevin Siegrist and Tyler Lyons in the bullpen, lefty reliever Dean Kiekhefer was also optioned to Triple-A.

It’s highly likely that Moss will take over as the club’s primary first baseman now that he’s returned from an ankle injury.

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He was having an All-Star caliber campaign before going on the DL back on July 5, and though he’s missed a month, he ranks second among Cardinals hitters in both OPS (.910) and home runs (17). He should strengthen the club’s lineup by lessening the need to use

Matt Adams

, who’s batting .174/.242/.337 over his past 30 games.

Peralta, who played exclusively third base during a brief 30-game run in between thumb injuries earlier this year, will move back to his natural position of shortstop upon his return. While he’s played short only during spring training games and minor-league rehab assignments this year, he’ll still probably be an upgrade over Aledmys Diaz, who has vastly improved at making routine plays but still isn’t exceptionally rangy.

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For Grichuk, this demotion seems like more of an outright indictment on his talent and an admission that he’s not one of the Cardinals’ best four outfielders right now. Whereas the minor-league stint for the former Rookie of the Year candidate from June 18-July 5 of this year was more of an opportunity to clear his mind and press the reset button, Grichuk will probably have to work really hard now to prove that he’s a better option than guys like Tommy Pham and Jeremy Hazelbaker, as well as versatile players such as Moss and Kolten Wong.

While the 24-year-old has 12 homers and a solid-enough .414 slugging percentage this year, he’s never really gotten in a rhythm for an extended period this season. Grichuk is 4-for-34 (.118) with three walks and just one extra-base hit (a homer) since July 17.

Next: Could Harrison Bader Change the Dynamic of the Cardinals' Outfield?

Kiekhefer slides back down the Cardinals’ depth chart for now, and it would be a surprise to see him again before September with three lefties already in the bullpen. With that said, he’s shown a strong enough ability to handle lefty hitters that he should be back as a matchup specialist after rosters expand.

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