The Cardinals have selected the contract of outfielder Nathan Church, as noted by Katie Woo of The Athletic. St. Louis had multiple spots available on its 40-man roster, so there was no need to create space for Church’s addition. He’ll be taking the active roster spot of center fielder Victor Scott II, who has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a left ankle sprain.
Scott, 24, has appeared in 116 games for the Cardinals this year while serving as the club’s primary center fielder. While his offensive numbers leave something to be desired (he’s hit .233/.311/.312 with a wRC+ of 81 this year), he’s improved substantially relative to last year’s 40 wRC+ thanks to much stronger plate discipline. His elite defense and 31-for-33 record on the bases has made him a two-win player according to both Baseball Reference’s and Fangraphs’ versions of WAR. He’s been used less often in recent weeks, with just 39 plate appearances since July 29, but the Cardinals have kept him as a regular presence in games even as his playing time has dwindled by using him as a pinch runner and defensive replacement.
That makes losing Scott for any amount of time a tough blow, particularly given that super utility man Brendan Donovan and first baseman Willson Contreras are both already out of the lineup with day-to-day injuries. All of this has created an opportunity for Church, who was an 11th-round pick by St. Louis back in 2022. He’s scaled the minor league ladder over the past few years in order to reach Triple-A this season, and he’s looked quite good at the level through 53 games. He’s hitting .335/.400/.521 in 242 plate appearances since being promoted, with nine steals and 22 extra-base hits, including seven homers. He’s also managed to walk (24) nearly as many times as he’s struck out (25). That impressive all-around profile is certainly intriguing, and now it appears to have been enough to earn him a look at the big league level.
Church has split his time between all three outfield spots in the minors fairly evenly, and it’s unclear where he’ll spend most of his time in the majors at this point. Jordan Walker is entrenched in right field, while Lars Nootbaar figures to handle either left field or center field on a regular basis but could switch between the two as needed. Burleson typically plays left field but has been handling first base in Contreras’s absence, which could create an opening for Church to get some playing time while Contreras nurses his injury. Once the rest of the roster is healthy, Church is likely to operate in mostly a bench role but his lefty bat could be used to spell the right-handed Walker in tougher matchups.
Interesting that they didn’t recall Siani. It doesn’t look like he is hitting much in AAA, but then he has never hit well in AAA and they like him well enough before.
Maybe Bloom made this decision, not Mo.
Have you seen what Church has been doing all year?!
This is a development year and Nathan Church is developing into a great player as his minor league numbers are great and he is coming along very quickly.
Siani isn’t a player who is being actively developed/seen as a future Cardinal. He’s a good defender, but his offense just isn’t there.
So moving Siani up doesn’t fit the team’s future plans beyond his being a trade piece as a bench bat for someone who needs a give-first outfield with minimal slug.
They’re not bringing up no-hit Siani. He will be non-tendered after the season. That’s a lock.
Scott came within less than a half inch of catching that Judge home run on the play that he got hurt on, too. Oh so close. The injury was a little salt in the wound. Props for staying in most of the game afterwards. Dude’s a gamer…
I think if Walker was making the same play, he would have a better chance of catching it being 6’5″
Walker would have to be fast enough to get there, which he’s not…
Cardinals. Church.
Makes sense to me.
Hopefully Church does good. Since Mo said they’re not bringing up Weatherholt maybe they can bring up Prieto or Torres and then trade Nootbar and Donovan for pitching this off season. I just want to see what it’s like to sell a player when their value is high. It’s been a while since they’ve done that.
Guy has been crushing it all year! Much deserved
Congrats to Nathan Church. Well deserved. Now to let it rip in the Big Show
Church has earned this opportunity. I hope he makes the most of it.
Agree some sort of new magic is needed since the Brewers seemed to have stolen the Devil Magic years ago.
Also very overdue to have a called up player actually over-achieve instead of disappoint. That used to happen more often.
Makes sense, calling Church up on Sunday!
I don’t understand why Donovan doesn’t go on the IL. His tow problem has been lingering for a month and it was definitely affecting his play. I get that Donovan is a grinder and he wants to try to play through it, but the needs of the team should out weigh the desires of the player. Playing every game with a bench that’s two men short makes it pretty tough on everybody else. He needs to do the right thing, go on the IL, get fully healthy, and come back at full strength.
Exactly. If they’re not going to start Wetherholt’s clock, they should at least bring up Fermin.
They might back-date that IL stint in a couple of days if Donnie doesn’t come around, but it’s not like 10 days off is going to hurt his trade value.
(His game value doesn’t matter because the team isn’t a contender.)
I’m a fan of Scott and what he brings to the team, especially if his hitting improves, the guy can be a star. However, Church has been pretty exciting, if you watch any of the memphis games he looks so disciplined at the plate, battles through the count and just gets on base a bunch. The way he approaches ABs kind of reminds me of how Matt Carpenter was a really tough out and could stay in the count back in his prime. Underrated prospect tbh, he’s fast and has made some crazy defensive plays. This is an exciting call up.