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The Opener: Soroka, Blackburn, Twins, Cubs

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Memorial Day has arrived, marking the unofficial start to summer. It’s also near the two-month point on the baseball calendar. A few storylines of note today with around one-third of the regular season in the books:

1. Soroka’s first MLB appearance since 2020:

The Braves are going to recall right-hander Michael Soroka from Triple-A Gwinnett, manager Brian Snitker confirmed last night. He’ll get the start this evening in Oakland. It’s the culmination of a multi-year rehab process for the 2019 NL Rookie of the Year runner-up. Soroka pitched to a 2.68 ERA as a 21-year-old that season but saw his career waylaid by successive Achilles tears. He hasn’t thrown a major league pitch since 2020 and has made just three big league starts since his All-Star showing four years ago. Finally healthy, Soroka has logged a 4.33 ERA through eight starts in Gwinnett. Even if this proves a one-off spot start, it’s sure to be a rewarding moment for the former first-round pick after years of brutal injury luck.

Soroka will be opposed by A’s right-hander Paul Blackburn, who’s also making his first MLB appearance of the season. An All-Star in 2022, Blackburn has dealt with various injury concerns of his own over the past ten months. Fingernail and blister issues on his throwing hand cost him the first couple months of this season. Blackburn will try to halt an 11-game losing streak for the A’s, who have fallen to a staggering 10-45 on the year.

2. Twins’ roster move incoming:

The Twins are set to welcome back both Max Kepler and Royce Lewis from the injured list before their series opener in Houston. They’re reportedly optioning Matt Wallner and Kyle Garlick to Triple-A St. Paul to clear active roster space, though they’ll still need to clear a 40-man roster spot. Lewis hasn’t counted against the 40-man since being placed on the 60-day injured list at the start of Spring Training. Unless Minnesota anticipates two-plus month absences for someone like Nick Gordon or Jorge Alcalá — transferring either to the 60-day IL would officially rule them out past the All-Star Break — they’ll need to designate someone for assignment.

3. Can the Cubs stop their skid?

The Cubs were swept at home by the Reds over the weekend. They’ve lost four in a row and dropped to 22-30 overall. They’re now narrowly behind the Rockies and Nationals with the worst record in the National League. The NL Wild Card bubble is still wide open, so it’s too soon to hammer the nail in the coffin. Chicago clearly anticipated hanging around the playoff mix on the heels of an active offseason and a solid 11-6 start. They’ve dropped 17 of 25 games in May, though, and they’ll finish out the month with a three-game set against the 39-16 Rays. Marcus Stroman, who could be one of the trade deadline’s top rental starting pitchers if the Cubs don’t turn things around, gets the ball this afternoon. He’ll be opposed by Tampa Bay rookie righty Taj Bradley.

Injury Notes: Quintana, Lugo, deGrom, Battenfield, Lee

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The Mets have been without offseason pickup José Quintana all season thanks to a Spring Training rib issue that required surgery. The veteran southpaw got positive news this afternoon though. After receiving good results on a recent CT scan, Quintana told reporters he’s set to begin throwing off a mound for the first time since March (relayed by Tim Healey of Newsday).

Quintana is in for an extended rehab process. He’ll need to build up arm strength and progress to throwing live batting practice sessions before a minor league rehab stint that’s sure to encompass multiple starts. During the spring, the Mets provided a July estimate for Quintana’s return to major league action. There’s no indication that timetable has changed, but it’s a positive development his recovery is going as anticipated.

New York has had one of the least productive rotations thus far. They entered play Friday with a 5.29 rotation ERA that ranks 25th leaguewide. That should improve with Justin Verlander back from an early-season injured list stint and Max Scherzer unlikely to carry a 4.88 ERA all season. Still, with Carlos Carrasco allowing nearly an earned run per inning and underwhelming work from depth starters David Peterson, Tylor Megill and Joey Lucchesi, the Mets could certainly use some stability from Quintana in the second half.

The latest on some other health situations around the game:

  • The Padres placed starter Seth Lugo on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to May 17, due to a right calf strain. Southpaw Ryan Weathers was recalled from Triple-A El Paso to replace him in the rotation. Signed to a two-year free agent guarantee, Lugo has made eight starts in his move back to the rotation from relief. He’s acquitted himself reasonably well, posting a 4.10 ERA with a roughly league average 21.3% strikeout rate across 41 2/3 innings. The 33-year-old righty is looking to reestablish himself as a starter and could retest the market next winter. His $15MM contract allows him to opt out of the final year and $7.5MM at season’s end.
  • Jacob deGrom threw a 25-pitch bullpen session this afternoon, writes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. It has been three weeks since the two-time Cy Young winner hit the injured list with elbow inflammation. deGrom told Grant and other reporters he came out of the session feeling good, opining he’s “turned a corner” in his ramp-up. Rangers skipper Bruce Bochy indicated on May 9 the club felt deGrom was two to three weeks from a return to a big league mound. While it doesn’t seem he’ll be back within the next few days, all indications are the issue isn’t as alarming as it first seemed given deGrom’s health history. Last offseason’s big-ticket free agent addition has a 2.67 ERA with an elite 39.1% strikeout percentage in his first 30 1/3 innings in a Ranger uniform.
  • The Guardians put starter Peyton Battenfield on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to May 18, with inflammation in his throwing shoulder. The rookie righty has been a member of Cleveland’s rotation since being called up in mid-April. He’s started six of seven appearances but struggled to a 5.19 ERA through 34 2/3 innings. The Oklahoma State product has a modest 18.5% strikeout rate and has given up seven home runs. He spent virtually all of last season with Triple-A Columbus, working to a 3.63 ERA over 28 starts. Battenfield’s next turn through the rotation was scheduled for Monday, so the Guardians will need to settle on a replacement for that series opener against the White Sox.
  • The Braves placed reliever Dylan Lee on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to May 17, on account of shoulder inflammation. Fellow southpaw Lucas Luetge was activated from an IL stint of his own in a corresponding move. Lee was somewhat quietly among the best relievers in the game last season, when he worked to a 2.13 ERA while striking out 29.4% of batters faced in 50 1/3 innings. He’s not been quite at that pace this year but still carries a solid 3.10 ERA and 27.1% strikeout percentage in 20 appearances. Luetge, acquired in an offseason trade with the Yankees, has made just five appearances with his new team thus far thanks to a bout of biceps inflammation.

Yankees, Michael Feliz Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Yankees have agreed to a minor league contract with reliever Michael Feliz, the Leones de Yucatán of the Mexican League announced yesterday (Twitter link). According to the MLB.com transaction tracker, Feliz has first been assigned to the organization’s Florida complex. After some time there building up, he’s likely to head to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Feliz had signed with Yucatán over the offseason. He pitched nine times and tallied 8 1/3 innings in the Mexican League, allowing just one run with an excellent 13:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Along the way, the 29-year-old impressed Yankees’ scouts to get another look in the affiliated ranks.

No stranger to affiliated ball, Feliz has appeared in parts of 12 minor league campaigns. He was a prospect of some regard in the Astros’ farm system and made his major league debut with Houston in 2015. The righty was on and off the MLB roster for the next few seasons before being dealt to the Pirates as part of the Gerrit Cole trade return. He had the best season of his career with Pittsburgh in 2019, tossing 56 1/3 innings of 3.99 ERA ball while punching out 30.6% of opposing hitters.

The past few seasons haven’t been as effective. Feliz has struggled to throw strikes consistently and bounced around the league in journeyman fashion. He’s suited up for Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Boston (on two separate occasions) and Oakland going back to 2021. He’s thrown a total of 31 MLB innings over the last three-plus years while bouncing around on waivers.

Feliz’s only major league work last season was a 3 1/3-inning relief outing for the Red Sox. Feliz otherwise spent the year in Triple-A, splitting the season between Boston’s and Minnesota’s affiliates. He worked to a 2.74 ERA over 49 1/3 combined innings, striking out a solid 26.4% of batters faced against a 9.6% walk rate.

Giants’ Thomas Szapucki Undergoing Thoracic Outlet Surgery

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Giants southpaw Thomas Szapucki is undergoing surgery to correct thoracic outlet syndrome today, the team informed reporters (including Maria Guardado of MLB.com). The club didn’t provide a recovery timetable, though it seems likely the left-hander will miss the majority or all of the 2023 season.

Szapucki has been on the 60-day injured list since Opening Day. He left a Spring Training outing with arm discomfort that apparently is related to the nerve condition. Thoracic outlet syndrome has become relatively common for pitchers in recent years. It’s a condition that typically requires the removal of part of a rib to reduce nerve pressure on the arm.

The track record for pitchers returning from thoracic outlet syndrome is mixed at best. Diamondbacks righty Merrill Kelly bounced back from the procedure in 2020 to turn in two-plus productive seasons. The likes of Matt Harvey, Tyson Ross and (to this point) Stephen Strasburg haven’t been so fortunate. Harvey and Ross never recaptured anything approaching their pre-TOS form, while Strasburg has only been able to pitch once since undergoing the surgery nearly two years ago due to various setbacks.

Obviously, the Giants and Szapucki are hopeful he’ll be able to recapture his pre-surgery stuff and avoid those kinds of long-term complications. One of four players acquired from the Mets last summer for Darin Ruf (a trade that looks like a coup for San Francisco given the production they’ve gotten out of corner infielder J.D. Davis), Szapucki pitched 10 times in relief down the stretch. He allowed only three runs in 13 1/3 innings, striking out 16 against four walks. Szapucki’s previous major league experience consisted of five innings in which he was tagged for 15 runs in Queens.

The 26-year-old Szapucki had been considered one of the more interesting pitching prospects in the Mets’ system since entering the professional ranks as a fifth round pick in 2015. He’s been a starter for the bulk of his minor league time, including opening 16 of 18 appearances for the Mets’ top affiliate in Syracuse last year. Szapucki will collect major league service and be paid around the MLB minimum rate while he’s on the injured list. He’s controllable through the 2028 season.

San Francisco also provided updates on a pair of players who landed on the injured list this morning. Righty Ross Stripling and catcher Joey Bart each went for imaging. Bart was diagnosed with a Grade 1 strain (the lowest severity) of his left groin. Stripling, whose official diagnosis was a lower back strain, has no structural damage and will be reevaluated next week.

Yankees Acquire Greg Allen From Red Sox

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8:28pm: New York officially announced the acquisition of Allen in exchange for minor league right-hander Diego Hernandez and cash. Hernandez, an 18-year-old native of Mexico, signed with New York as an undrafted free agent last year. He spent 2022 in the Dominican Summer League, starting five of 12 games.

7:17pm: The Yankees are acquiring outfielder Greg Allen from the Red Sox, reports Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). Allen had been in the Boston organization on a minor league contract. Abraham adds the trade was due to an upward mobility clause in Allen’s deal which required the Red Sox to either promote him or trade him if another club offered an immediate big league roster spot.

While neither team has yet announced the trade, that suggests Allen is likely to step onto New York’s MLB roster in the next couple days. The Yankees will have to create a spot on the 40-man roster, though that can be done by transferring Carlos Rodón to the 60-day injured list. IL transfers are backdated to the time of the original placement (in Rodón’s case, Opening Day) and there’s no chance he’ll be ready for MLB action by next week.

Once official, it’ll be Allen’s second stint as a Yankee. The switch-hitting outfielder appeared in 15 games for New York two years ago. He played well, hitting .270/.417/.432 over 48 trips to the plate. Allen’s modest pre-2021 track record led the Yankees to place him on waivers despite that small-sample production. The Pirates claimed him and kept him on the roster for the majority of last season, but he slumped to a .186/.260/.271 line with a 31.3% strikeout rate in 134 trips to the plate. That brought his career slash to .232/.299/.336 in exactly 800 plate appearances over four teams.

Pittsburgh ran Allen through waivers at the end of the year. He caught on with the Red Sox on an offseason minor league pact and has impressed over 37 games for their Triple-A affiliate in Worcester. He’s hitting .250/.407/.388 in 151 trips to the plate. Allen has walked at a robust 13.9% clip and kept his strikeouts to a far more manageable 19.2% rate than he had in the majors last season. He’s also gone a staggering 23-23 in stolen base attempts. No other minor league player has run more often without yet being thrown out.

Allen has always had plus speed and strong basestealing instincts. He’s 45-53 in that regard in his major league career, an excellent 84.9% success rate. The introduction of more favorable rules for baserunners (larger bases, a pitch clock and pickoff limitations) should only make things easier for him in that regard. Allen’s athleticism hasn’t translated into universally strong defensive grades, however. Public metrics have pegged him as an above-average corner outfielder but given him mixed reviews over his 966 major league innings in center field.

The 30-year-old is out of minor league option years. Assuming the Yankees add him to the MLB roster, they’ll have to keep him in the majors or designate him for assignment. He’ll add another veteran depth outfielder behind Aaron Judge and Harrison Bader. New York has tried a number of different players in left field, giving the bulk of that time to Oswaldo Cabrera and Aaron Hicks. None of Cabrera, Hicks, Willie Calhoun nor Isiah Kiner-Falefa has contributed much offensively. Cabrera is the only member of that group who still has remaining minor league options.

Mets Select Gary Sanchez, Place Tim Locastro On 60-Day IL

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May 19: The Mets announced that they’ve selected Sanchez’s contract, optioned Perez to to Syracuse and placed outfielder Tim Locastro on the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot for Sanchez. Locastro has a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb. New York also announced that Nido is heading out on a rehab assignment with the team’s Port St. Lucie affiliate, so further changes to the catching corps could be on the horizon.

May 18: The Mets are selecting the contract of veteran catcher Gary Sánchez, reports Andy Martino of SNY (Twitter link). He’s expected to be formally added to the roster before tomorrow’s game against the Guardians. The Mets will need to create a spot on the 40-man roster before the contest.

Sánchez signed a minor league deal with the Mets a little over a week ago. It was his second non-roster pact of the season. He’d initially signed with the Giants shortly after Opening Day but never got a big league look thanks to significant struggles with their top affiliate in Sacramento. He opted out and caught on with New York thereafter.

The two-time All-Star’s deal with the Mets allowed him to opt out if he wasn’t added to the MLB roster by tomorrow. He’s fortunately gotten out to a much better start for their Triple-A club in Syracuse than he had with Sacramento. He mashed at a .318/.531/.545 clip with a homer, two doubles, eight walks and nine strikeouts in seven games there. His overall Triple-A batting line for the season is a modest .208/.386/.286 thanks to the tough first month, but he’s clearly acquitted himself nicely in his brief time with his new organization.

With the opt-out date looming, reports earlier in the week suggested the Mets were strongly considering calling Sánchez up. Now that they’ve done so, he’ll be guaranteed a prorated $1.5MM salary (roughly $1.1MM through season’s end). Even with the Mets paying a 110% tax on that figure, bringing their total expenditure to around $2.31MM, that’s a reasonable sum for a capable #2 catcher.

Sánchez isn’t going to supplant highly-regarded rookie Francisco Álvarez as the starter. He’ll add an experienced depth option to the bench, offering some extra right-handed power for skipper Buck Showalter. Sánchez is no stranger to New York, of course, as he starred for the Yankees for the first four seasons of his career. His offensive production has fallen off since the start of 2020, as he carries a .195/.287/.394 line in a little under 1100 plate appearances through the past three years.

A much maligned defensive catcher over his time in the Bronx, Sánchez garnered respectable reviews from public metrics last year during his lone season with the Twins. Statcast rated him around league average as a pitch framer and blocker. He threw out a solid 28% of attempted basestealers. If he can carry over roughly average defense with some power and plate discipline, he’d be a solid backup catcher.

New York is without offseason signee Omar Narváez and expected backup Tomás Nido due to injuries. They’ve been relying on journeyman Michael Pérez as Álvarez’s backup of late. A career .180/.250/.308 hitter, Pérez has one remaining minor league option year. Unless the Mets elect to carry three catchers, he’s likely to be optioned to Syracuse or designated for assignment.

Rockies Select Karl Kauffmann, Transfer German Marquez To 60-Day IL

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May 19: The Rockies indeed announced that they’ve selected Kauffman’s contract, opening roster space by optioning Pint and moving Marquez to the 60-day IL.

May 17: The Rockies are selecting the contract of right-hander Karl Kauffmann, tweets Danielle Allentuck of the Denver Gazette. Riley Pint is being optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque to open a spot on the active roster. Colorado will need to make a corresponding 40-man roster transaction, though that’s likely to be accomplished by transferring Germán Márquez from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list.

It’s an expected move. Thomas Harding of MLB.com noted last night that Kauffmann had been scratched from his scheduled Triple-A start and was in consideration for a major league promotion. Now that it’s officially coming to fruition, he’ll be in line for his major league debut Friday night against the Rangers.

Kauffmann, 25, entered pro ball as a supplemental second round draftee in 2019. The Michigan product appeared among Baseball America’s rankings of Colorado’s top 30 minor league talents each season from 2020-22. He performed reasonably well over 15 starts with Double-A Hartford last season, posting a 4.06 ERA while striking out just under 26% of opponents. A promotion to Triple-A didn’t go as hoped, as Kauffmann surrendered more than six earned runs per nine in a nightmarish Pacific Coast League environment for pitchers.

The Rox left Kauffmann unprotected in last offseason’s Rule 5 draft. He was unselected and remained in the organization. Colorado sent him back to Albuquerque. He’s made eight starts there but been tagged for a 7.78 ERA with a modest 14.9% strikeout rate. The Michigan product has cut his walk percentage to a personal-low 6.9% clip, though, and he’s a generally experienced upper minors pitcher for an organization lacking in rotation depth.

Márquez’s Tommy John surgery and the recent elbow sprain for Antonio Senzatela have left the Rox looking for innings. Colorado brought in veteran righty Chase Anderson off waivers from the Rays while pushing Connor Seabold from the bullpen to the starting five. Kauffmann will get at least one look behind that duo and top two starters Kyle Freeland and Austin Gomber.

Latest On A’s Stadium Situation

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The A’s stadium drama has been one of MLB’s biggest storylines of the past couple months. The franchise has already expressed its hope for getting a deal done in Las Vegas that’d allow them to relocate out of Oakland within the next couple years. They’ve entered into a pair of land purchase agreements for potential stadium sites in recent months, but the franchise’s biggest hurdle — a public financing agreement with the Nevada legislature — has yet to get off the ground.

Reports on Monday suggested the organization was likely to formally put forth a funding proposal by the end of the week. That still hasn’t happened, and multiple reports yesterday indicated potential reluctance on the legislature’s part to meet the A’s ask. The franchise’s as-yet unofficial proposal is expected to call for $395MM in public funding via Clark County-issued bonds to be paid by tax dollars related to the stadium project. Initially, the organization was set to pursue $500MM in bonds before revising their anticipated ask after changing their target stadium site.

Even that “diminished” $395MM figure seems to be beyond the legislature’s comfort. Both Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Tabitha Mueller/Howard Stutz of the Nevada Independent reported yesterday the legislature wasn’t keen on the $395MM price tag. The respective reports present differing details on precisely how large the gap between the organization and state is.

The Nevada Independent suggests the legislature is mulling an approval of $150-195MM in tax credits, which would leave a $200MM+ gap on the organization’s desired figure. The Review-Journal pegs things more closely, reporting that government officials are willing to commit $320MM in financing. That’d be a much smaller but still not insignificant $75MM shy of the A’s goal.

Akers writes that the A’s formal financing proposal is now not expected to go in front of the legislature until sometime next week. Lawmakers are only in scheduled session through June 5, leaving a small window for a deal to be approved before the session is set to close. The governor or 2/3 of the legislature can choose to call a special session to continue negotiations beyond June 5 if necessary, Mueller and Stutz note.

In any event, there’s an increasing sense of urgency for the organization to accelerate talks. The franchise is hoping to build a 30,000-seat retractable roof facility with an estimated $1.5 billion price tag on the south end of the Vegas strip. Just over $1.1 billion would be paid by the A’s under their expected proposal, with the $395MM in public funding accounting for the remainder of the costs. It’s to be seen whether either side will budge on the funding discrepancy (however large it is at present) to get a deal done.

Under the 2022-26 collective bargaining agreement, the A’s have until next January 15 to sign a stadium deal somewhere if they’re to retain their status as recipients of revenue sharing. It’s clear the organization hopes that’ll be in Vegas, though there remains some chance they turn their focus back to Oakland if talks with the Nevada legislature fall apart.

Latest On Dodgers’ Pitching Staff

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The Dodgers lost Dustin May to a flexor pronator strain yesterday. That injury is expected to sideline him for four to six weeks, leaving a vacancy in the starting five. L.A. manager Dave Roberts addressed the rotation before today’s loss to the Cardinals.

Roberts noted the club was likely to recall top pitching prospect Gavin Stone to take the open rotation spot (Twitter thread via Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times). Stone and Michael Grove are the only pitchers to take a start outside of the Dodgers’ expected top five of Clayton Kershaw, Julio Urías, Tony Gonsolin, Noah Syndergaard and May.

Grove has been on the 15-day injured list for nearly a month thanks to a groin strain. He’s with the club on the taxi squad and could be reinstated within the next few days, although Roberts suggested he was likelier to step into the relief corps immediately. Grove has been throwing in extended Spring Training but hasn’t gone out on a minor league rehab assignment.

Meanwhile, the club provided an unfortunate update on right-hander Ryan Pepiot. The Butler product was expected to take the fifth spot out of camp with Gonsolin opening the year on the IL. He suffered a brutally timed oblique strain at the end of Spring Training, however, sending him to the 60-day IL. Pepiot has still yet to throw from a mound as he continues to battle side soreness, and Roberts indicated he was unlikely to be back until around the All-Star Break (via Harris).

Stone is the logical choice to come back up. He struggled in his major league debut earlier in the season, allowing five runs in four innings. The 24-year-old has been strong for Triple-A Oklahoma City, pitching to a 4.04 ERA with a quality 27.5% strikeout rate over 35 2/3 frames in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

Alongside Stone, Bobby Miller is one of the sport’s most touted minor league pitchers and has reached Triple-A. He’s made just four starts after being delayed in Spring Training and been tagged for 13 runs in 14 1/3 innings. Unsurprisingly, Roberts suggested the Dodgers want Miller to keep getting reps in Oklahoma City rather than garnering consideration for a short-term call. Miller is not yet on the 40-man roster.

Cardinals Notes: O’Neill, Edman, DeJong, Liberatore

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Cardinals outfielder Tyler O’Neill has been on the 10-day injured list since May 5 with a lower back strain. He was slated to go on a minor league rehab stint today but the club announced yesterday he’d be held back because of continued soreness.

Manager Oli Marmol told reporters today that O’Neill will meet again with the club’s doctors to try to determine the source of the ongoing discomfort (relayed by John Denton of MLB.com). It’s not presently clear how much longer St. Louis will without its Opening Day center fielder. Prior to the injury, O’Neill had been off to a slow start offensively. He’s hitting .228/.283/.337 with only two home runs and a characteristically high 34.3% strikeout rate. The Cardinals also quickly pushed O’Neill back into his standard left field role after flirting with the idea of him manning center.

St. Louis is also without Dylan Carlson after he landed on the IL earlier in the week. The Cards brought up Oscar Mercado from Triple-A and they’ve begun getting Tommy Edman work in the outfield. The switch-hitter has started three straight games in right field after playing exclusively in the middle infield thus far. Edman, who left this evening’s game due to lower abdominal soreness (via Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch), is off to a strong .274/.331/.467 start to the year.

Edman is a quality defender up the middle but his flexibility has allowed the Cards to get the hot-hitting Paul DeJong back into action. DeJong has been much maligned because of his offensive struggles between 2020-22, but he’s stormed out to a .290/.355/.594 slash with six homers in 20 games since being activated from the IL on April 23. That’s been enough for the former All-Star to force his way back into the lineup at shortstop.

The Cardinals also called up left-hander Matthew Liberatore for the first time this season yesterday. He tossed five scoreless innings in a win against Milwaukee, building off a strong first few weeks with Triple-A Memphis. The one-time top prospect had a 3.13 ERA with excellent strikeout (30.3%) and ground-ball (50%) rates over eight starts in the minors preceding his promotion. With St. Louis’ rotation turning in generally lackluster results, Liberatore looks like one of the organization’s most intriguing arms.

Marmol confirmed that Liberatore will get another start during next week’s road trip between Cincinnati and Cleveland (via Jeff Jones of the Belleville News Democrat). That came on the heels of president of baseball operations John Mozeliak suggesting earlier in the afternoon the Cards could use Liberatore out of the bullpen in the shorter term (via Brandon Kiley of 101 ESPN). The Cardinals won’t have an off day until May 31, marking a stretch of 19 consecutive game days. That figures to put a fair amount of stress on the pitching staff.

St. Louis has used a starting five of Jordan Montgomery, Miles Mikolas, Adam Wainwright, Jack Flaherty and Steven Matz. None of that quintet has an ERA under 4.00, with Montgomery’s 4.21 mark the only figure that isn’t pushing or exceeding five earned runs per nine. Depth starter Jake Woodford, who’d gotten six starts while Wainwright was on the IL in April, had a 5.72 ERA before hitting the IL with shoulder inflammation two weeks ago.

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