The Cardinals announced that they have placed former closer Trevor Rosenthal on the 15-day DL with what’s being called rotator cuff inflammation. Southpaw Dean Kiekhefer will take his spot on the active roster.
[Related: Updated Cardinals Depth Chart]
It has been an incredibly trying season for Rosenthal, who was previously considered one of the more reliable late-inning arms in baseball. As Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes on Twitter, though, the organization had previously suggested there weren’t any health issues underlying his problems.
Regardless of whether this is something of a phantom DL stint or a reflection of a real issue, the down time can’t hurt Rosenthal. The 26-year-old is still racking up plenty of strikeouts with an average fastball of about 97 mph, but has coughed up 7.3 free passes per nine innings over his 33 1/3 frames on the season.
As things stand, the Cards are headed for some surprisingly tough calls on a player who had entered the year with a lifetime 2.66 ERA. Keeping him on the active roster in the midst of such struggles seemed a difficult ask for an organization that is trying to compete for a playoff spot, though there has to be at least some hope of getting him straightened out to contribute down the stretch. But even beyond that, there will ultimately be a point at which the club has to decide whether to tender Rosenthal a contract for 2017. He’ll be due a not-insignificant raise an his already-stout $5.6MM salary, and that’s no sure thing at this point in time.
At this point, the DL placement doesn’t have much of an impact on the team’s deadline plans beyond the fact that it clears an opening for an eventual roster move. St. Louis has long been seeking late-inning relief help, and that remains the case with August 1st fast approaching.
I doubt there is an injury. Let him step away from the game for a few days and get his head straightened out.
Well, this is one loss to the DL the Cards can live with this season XD
And there it is! MO’s big splash to fix the bullpen!
Is it technically legal to do ghost DL stints?
It’s done all the time.
I am sure it is. But, I am asking from a technical stand point. What do the rule books say?
Well they can dl a player for mental health. I think most players don’t want that as a reason so they go along with injury. Technically I think it’s frowned apon, but it’s accepted.
Clubs are technically not allowed to use a “Phantom DL” in the Major or Minor leagues but it is done all the time, especially in the minor leagues. I tend to believe he might indeed be hurting. At the Major League level, most of the time loss of command is the first sign of a injury rather than loss of velocity.
I don’t see why the Cardinals would need a phantom DL stint for Rosenthal. He has option years available, because he’s only used 1 of his 3 options (2012), so could be sent down to AAA if all he needs is time away from pitching in MLB games to straighten himself out.. The fact that he could be optioned instead makes me think that he is actually injured.
“He’ll be due a not-insignificant raise an his already-stout $5.6MM salary, and that’s no sure thing at this point in time.”
Is there something I’m missing with arbitration as to why he’d be due an increase?
I understand that arbitration panels generally focus on “baseball card stats” rather than advanced metrics, but Rosenthal has been really bad this year even without getting into advanced metrics: 5.13 ERA, 14 saves vs. 4 blown saves, only 33.1 innings pitched so far this year.
The Cardinals do need to tender him at least 80% of his current $5.6 million for arbitration, correct? Something like $5 million is obviously too much for Rosenthal if he is in fact irreparably broken as a pitcher, so he’d still be a non-tender candidate. I’m not understanding, though, why a pitcher whose performance fell off a cliff this year would be “due a not-insignificant raise” unless his stats change a lot by the end of the season.
Rosenthal is a proven top 5 closer! How can people give up on that kind of talent so fast. Whether it was the fact that the pressure got to him or he is hurt. The Cards have gotten so cheap with the roster anyway. Here is a thought, make him a starter next year. He has 4 pitches and they are all nasty.