TODAY: A surgical approach is on the table for Rosenthal, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports on Twitter. Rosenthal is set to receive a second opinion on how best to deal with the “stability of his ligament,” per the report.
It certainly sounds as if a Tommy John procedure is at least a possibility. Even if it isn’t ultimately pursued, a rehab course for UCL damage typically involves a fairly lengthy rest and rehab program. Were Rosenthal to require TJ surgery, he’d almost certainly be non-tendered this fall; 2018 is his final season of arbitration eligibility. And avoiding the knife would still seemingly leave it uncertain whether he’ll be able to return this season.
YESTERDAY: The Cardinals have placed reliever Trevor Rosenthal on the 10-day DL with what the team is calling right posterior elbow irritation, per an announcement. Young righty Luke Weaver has been recalled to take his spot on the active roster.
Rosenthal had recently regained the team’s closer role, turning in quality results as the Cards surged in the standings. But the hard-throwing righty left last night’s outing after exhibiting diminished velocity, with indications at the time that he was experiencing tightness in his pitching arm.
The 27-year-old hurler has turned in a bounceback year after a rough 2016 campaign that was marred by arm problems. Through 47 2/3 innings to date, he carries a 3.40 ERA and has racked up 14.3 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9. Rosenthal has not only reversed last year’s walk problems, but has worked at a career-high 98.9 mph and generated a personal-best 15.9% swinging-strike rate.
While any elbow problems are of concern, the outlook on Rosenthal remains unclear at this point. Certainly, the Cardinals will hope that he can recover after a relatively brief DL stint and return to the pen down the stretch.
After all, St. Louis remains in the hunt for the NL Central title and it’s a difficult time to find a quality replacement via trade. The team could return Seung-hwan Oh to closing duties, give lefty Tyler Lyons a shot, or utilize a committee to finish out games. Internal solutions will still leave the club down a late-inning arm, though Weaver certainly represents a quality new addition to the unit.
maybe weaver takes wainos spot in rotation and waino becomes the closer a la 2015?
pls give me likes lmao
Weaver should get a chance and maybe Flaherty or Hudson also. But Waino is not closer material anymore. Mo is going to pay now for not making a deal sooner to shore up bullpen. I laugh when people suggest Lyons or Brebbia. Is there realistically any other choice?
People said the same thing about John Smoltz and that worked out pretty good. No one can sit here and say what Adam could or couldn’t do as a closer today.
and a la 2006
I would give Lyons the closer role, at least til he flubs up. He has been almost dominating the past few weeks.
Anyone other than Ohhhh no
He’s been a lot better as of late. I’ve seen Rosey give up just as much if not more. Both have been playing better.
Not tonight he wasn’t. Luckily, the Cardinals had a 6 run lead this time.
I’d put Weaver in the rotation and send Leake to AAA to try and fix his issues…he has been brutal to watch
Its impossible for them to send Leake to AAA
leake going to aaa isn’t impossible. he could get dl’ed and sent for rehab assignment.
Yea, about the only thing they can do is move him to the bullpen. Or DFA but their not going to eat that much salary. Weaver in the rotation? Yes please.
Leaked issue is fatigue and nothing mechanically can be fixed about that. He got very sick and lost a ton of weight in turn losing a lot of strength. So pitching a complete season is 100% out of the question if the gm is smart.
Leake has had both really good and really bad games lately. He’s still sporting an ERA below 4.
I’m a fan of a Lyons/Brebbia Closer situation, even when Rosenthal comes back, he’s so hit or miss. Idk why they stopped using him in long relief or possibly starting, he did good in his first few tries.
Brewers are gonna swoop in and take that division due to injuries. Good luck in the playoffs, you’re gonna need it
The Cardinals have remained relatively healthy, and this injury doesn’t look to be anything major.
Oh yea
How is possibly having tommy john not anything major?
He said that before the most recent update.
Was just going to say the same thing. Brewers getting Vogt and Anderson back this weekend and the Cards and Cubs adding to the DL daily.
I don’t care who wins as long as it’s not the cubs. A cub fan on twitter today actually ask why didn’t Lester get the loss today since he gave up 9 runs. Are you kidding me. They know nothing about the game whatsoever
You mean one whole cub fan? Color me shocked!
There’s idiot fans everywhere buddy
Maybe said fan didn’t see that they actually tied it.
@Cardinal Are you even watching? Fowler could have caught that ball from Freese on the wall, he should have. Then a double play ball to SS gets 1 out. I’d hardly say Oh was bad, but Rosenthal and Oh are different pitchers. Oh relies on his slider a lot and if you look at the hit McCutchen got it was right off the end of the bat. Oh has hardly been bad this year, he’s 18/21 or 85.7%. Most closers in a season blow 5 to 6 saves and go around 80-85%. Maybe you want Cecil there? Oh deserves another shot at closer, and if he blows then play closer by committee, but who, Lyons? Who else? There isn’t anyone. Actually, you can be thankful that the Cards have Oh and that he doesn’t have arm problems.
Craig Kimbrel has 4 blown saves 28/32, ok the sample size is bigger but it’s still 4 blown saves.
If I recall correctly three of those four we’re at least 4 out saves
As are some of Oh’s.
Oh’s righty lefty splits are alarming. Lefties crushing him all year. Unless he reverts back to 2016 form, his days as an effective closer are over.
We said the same thing about Rosenthal last year.
Ugh. Injuries suck.
So it sounds like its very possible he may have pitched his final pitch as a Cardinal. Wow.
I hope not, I like Rosenthal and would hope maybe they could bring him back on a lesser deal if injured.
I wouldn’t mind it but if there’s a shot he sits out of 2018, that’s going to be a hard pass on giving him a contract. It’s a lot like the Seth Madness situation.
Why do they keep bringing up Mayers? The dude has a career 17 ERA.
He almost blew it tonight. I don’t get it either.
I suppose all the people who said they don’t want Oh have nothing to say now. That’s a game he saved right there, regardless of what he does from now on….