The Cardinals had a fair amount of concern over center fielder Dexter Fowler’s right shoulder strain on Friday, but it seems he dodged a significant injury. Fowler missed his second straight game Saturday, though he told reporters – including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch – that he only has “general soreness” and is ready to return to the lineup. The Cardinals are understandably taking a cautious approach with their big-money offseason signing, however. Meanwhile, another of their outfielders, Jose Martinez, suffered a groin injury Saturday and will probably head to the disabled list. If so, he’d join right fielder Stephen Piscotty on the DL, leaving the Redbirds with a banged-up Fowler, Randal Grichuk and Tommy Pham as their top outfielders. The likelihood is that the Cardinals will promote High-A outfielder Magneuris Sierra to provide another option, tweets Goold. Sierra, who’s already on St. Louis’ 40-man roster, is known for his defense, as Goold wrote in December for Baseball America when he ranked the 21-year-old as the Cardinals’ fifth-best prospect (subscription required/recommended).
- Cubs manager Joe Maddon said Saturday that he expects left-hander Brett Anderson to land on the DL, tweets Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com. Maddon added that either Mike Montgomery or Eddie Butler would replace Anderson in the Cubs’ rotation, according to Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago (Twitter link). Anderson started the Cubs’ 11-6 loss to the Yankees, recording just one out and allowing five runs on six hits, before departing with lower back tightness. Injuries are nothing new for Anderson, who missed most of last season after undergoing back surgery as a member of the Dodgers in March 2016. While Anderson has generally been effective during the healthy points of his career, he hasn’t pitched well in his first year with the Cubs. The free agent pickup has registered an 8.18 ERA, 6.55 K/9 and a 4.91 BB/9 in six starts (22 innings).
- The Mets are sending left fielder Yoenis Cespedes to New York on Monday to take a “fuller look” at why he has had recurring injuries, general manager Sandy Alderson stated Saturday (via MetsBlog).
- Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson has been on the DL since April 14 with a calf injury, and it seems he’ll remain on the shelf past the originally reported four-week window. Donaldson is making progress in his recovery, though he revealed Saturday that it’s coming along “slowly” (via Jeff Odom of MLB.com). The 2015 AL MVP is currently using an anti-gravity treadmill at 60 percent body weight, writes Odom, and won’t resume running the bases until he’s at 100 percent.
Isn’t it mike not mark?
Yes, thanks. I have an annoying habit of calling him Mark. Blame former Yankees relief prospect/current Cardinals farmhand Mark Montgomery.
The curse of Star Wars day…. strikes back?
Aaaaaaah
Anderson has been awful. I typically don’t fall on this side of the of the equation, but the reaction from Bosio when he went out to see him and Anderson’s post game interview, there seemed to be a lot of excuses.
I was waiting for Cubbie fans to blame Joe Buck’s announcing on why they gave up 6 runs in the first lol
Haha, Joe has to account for a few of those…amiright?
The Cards do have an open spot on the 40-man if they opt to call Harrison Bader up instead of Sierra.
Except Bader can’t hit a slow pitch softball right now, and Sierra is the better defender. Bader needs to work out of slump down there.
Sierra will get the bat knocked out of his hands in the Majors. There’s no way he can hold his own at the plate right now. That said, if Sierra is used correctly, he can provide some value to the team. I’ll leave if you trust Mike Matheny to do that up to you.
Perhaps Cespedes’s recurring injuries come from his tendency to overswing on his 5-iron shots.
I’m surprised to hear that the Cards are going to bring up a light hitting CF from A ball to cover for an injury. Isn’t that the exact reason you sign an MiLB vet like Todd Cunningham? A player with loads of AAA experience, some MLB time and he can at least fake it at all three OF positions. If you’re not going to use him for this reason, why sign him at all and have him potentially block a prospect at AAA then?
showcasing sierra and hoping he plays lights out. could be using this opportunity for trade bait.
Working on selling a kelly, Sierra, alcantara, Wong trade to sox for Quintana