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Cardinals Place Packy Naughton On 15-Day IL Due To Left Forearm Strain

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TODAY: Manager Oliver Marmol told reporters (including MLB.com’s John Denton) that Naughton’s MRI didn’t show any structural damage, so Naughton may have only suffered a forearm strain.  The lefty will continue to be evaluated over the next few days as the Cardinals determine his recovery plan.

APRIL 8: The Cardinals placed left-hander Packy Naughton on the 15-day injured list, as Naughton is suffering from a left forearm strain.  Genesis Cabrera has been called up from Triple-A to fill Naughton’s place in the bullpen with another southpaw.

There wasn’t much doubt that Naughton would need some type of visit to the IL after he removed himself from last night’s 4-0 loss to the Brewers.  Naughton entered the game in the eighth inning, retired two batters and then walked Christian Yelich before motioning to the Cardinals’ dugout that something was amiss.  The club has yet to comment on the severity of Naughton’s strain or if the worst-case scenario of Tommy John surgery is being considered, but Naughton will almost certainly miss more than 15 days while recovering.

Naughton (who turns 27 later this month) is in his third Major League season, after initially being selected by the Reds in the ninth round of the 2017 draft.  The Angels acquired Naughton as part of the trade that sent Brian Goodwin to Cincinnati at the 2020 trade deadline, and St. Louis claimed Naughton off waivers from Anaheim prior to the start of the 2022 season.

With both the Angels in 2021 and the Cards last year, Naughton has spent a lot of time shuttling back and forth from Triple-A, working as both a spot starter and increasingly as a reliever with St. Louis.  The more permanent move to relief work has seemingly bumped up Naughton’s strikeout rates, while he has continued to exhibit the solid control that has helped up rise up the minor league ranks.  Naughton has a 3.69 ERA over 453 1/3 innings in the minors, and a 4.98 ERA over his 59 2/3 frames as a big leaguer, which includes five innings of scoreless ball this season.

It hasn’t been a smooth start to the season for the Cardinals bullpen, and losing Naughton won’t help matters.  Cabrera joins Zack Thompson as the only left-handed members of the relief corps, though JoJo Romero is at the Triple-A level.  Between a dropoff in strikeouts and an increase in his home run rate, Cabrera struggled to a 4.63 ERA over 44 2/3 innings for St. Louis last season, and a good Spring Training performance wasn’t enough to win him a spot on the Opening Day roster.

Cardinals Notes: O’Neill, Marlins, Naughton, Nootbaar, Wainwright

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Tyler O’Neill’s name was part of trade talks with the Marlins and other teams this winter, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports.  Back in January, Rosenthal wrote that St. Louis had shown interest in the Marlins’ pitching, and since Miami was known to be looking for outfield help, it stands to reason that O’Neill was part of those discussions.  No trade materialized between the two sides, of course, and it isn’t known if O’Neill was necessarily one of the Marlins’ top targets on the St. Louis roster, or if the Cards were more open to moving O’Neill than any of their outfielders.

Given all of the Cardinals’ outfield depth and the Marlins’ rotation depth, any number of names or potential trades could’ve been floated in negotiations — likewise, any team engaging the Cardinals in outfield-related trade talks might’ve had a few options in mind.  While O’Neill was coming off a relative down year in 2022, that doesn’t mean rival clubs wouldn’t have still had trade interest, perhaps hoping to nab the two-time Gold Glover in a buy-low situation.

With this all in mind, Rosenthal wonders if O’Neill could potentially be tangled in trade talks again, perhaps in an outfielder-for-pitching swap similar to the deal that sent Harrison Bader to the Yankees for Jordan Montgomery at last year’s trade deadline.  As The Athletic’s Levi Weaver noted, Bader was traded within a couple of months after Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol removed him mid-game for a perceived lack of effort.  On Wednesday, O’Neill wasn’t in the Cards’ starting lineup, which Marmol publicly said was due to what the skipper felt was a lack of hustle on O’Neill’s part in running the bases in Tuesday’s game.  O’Neill both denied that charge, and also wasn’t pleased that Marmol went public with the criticism.

It should be noted that O’Neill still appeared in Wednesday’s game as a pinch-hitter, and after Thursday’s off-day, O’Neill was back as the starting center fielder in the Cardinals’ 4-0 loss to the Brewers on Friday.  Talking to Derrick Gould of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other reporters, Marmol said it was “one hundred percent” important to have O’Neill back in action, calling him “one of the most talented players in that clubhouse.  There’s a next step for Tyler in his career, and my job is to get him there.”

The manager also explained his perspective on “holding someone accountable” as it related to his decision to call O’Neill out, saying “it’s your ability to sit down with a player before the lights come on before the stadium is packed and ask them what they want for themselves and what they want for the team.  And allowing them to articulate that and then asking for permission to hold them to that.  And when it doesn’t look right, you hold them to that.”

Beyond O’Neill’s return and the shutout loss, Friday’s game was also notable for what might be a significant injury to left-hander Packy Naughton.  After pitching to three batters in his relief outing, Naughton left the game with what the club later described as forearm tightness.  Goold wrote that Naughton was slated to have his left arm examined last night.

It seems like Naughton is headed for the injured list at the very least, and he and the team can only hope that a serious injury has been avoided.  Naughton is just a few days shy of his 27th birthday, and he is in his third MLB season.  St. Louis claimed Naughton off waivers from the Angels in March 2022, and his first season with the Cardinals saw Naughton post a 4.78 ERA over 32 innings, working mostly as a reliever.

In other injury news, Lars Nootbaar might be activated from the 10-day IL as early as Monday, since Marmol told MLB.com and other reporters that the club will wait to see how Nootbaar’s injured left thumb feels after batting practice.  However, Nootbaar said that his thumb is more of an issue when trying to catch a ball or even when wearing a glove, moreso than any pain caused by taking swings.

Adam Wainwright is on the 15-day IL recovering from a groin strain, and is slated for his second 28-pitch bullpen session on Sunday.  If all goes well, Wainwright might throw more pitches in another bullpen tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, and a minor league rehab outing could then follow in the coming days.

The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast Is Back!

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The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast, last heard in 2016 hosted by the esteemed Jeff Todd, has relaunched!  Simon Hampton is now your host, and we’re very excited to bring the new show to you every week.

Episode 1 is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well; use this link to find the show on Spotify and this one for Apple.  You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Simon Hampton is joined by Anthony Franco to discuss a wide range of topics around the baseball world:

  • An early look at the trade deadline possibilities, particularly focusing on Shohei Ohtani and what it make take for the Angels to listen to offers on the two-way star (3:19)
  • Jake Cronenworth signed a seven-year, $80MM extension with the Padres, so what does that mean for San Diego’s chances at extending other players such as Juan Soto, Josh Hader and Blake Snell? (7:31)
  • It’s easy to over-react to results in the first week of the season, so at what point is it reasonable to become concerned with a team’s performance? And what about the players? (12:30)

Plus, we answer your questions, including:

  • Could the Marlins match up with the Yankees on a trade involving Oswald Peraza? And which of Miami’s pitchers could be in play at the deadline? (16:56)
  • Will the Cardinals make a move to bolster their rotation at some stage this season? And if so, which players could be in play? (21:24)
  • The Dodgers took a step back this winter, so how aggressive will they be at the deadline this year? And are they clearing payroll space for a crack at Shohei Ohtani? (26:09)

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Cardinals Notes: O’Neill, Nootbaar, Wainwright, DeJong

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Cardinals outfielder Tyler O’Neill is not in today’s lineup, with Dylan Carlson taking his center field spot. It appears as though this is relation to a play in last night’s game where O’Neill was thrown out at home, trying to score from second on a single by Brendan Donovan (Twitter link with video from the Braves). Manager Oli Marmol is of the opinion that O’Neill wasn’t running with full effort on the play and spoke on the record about it last night and again today, as relayed by Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Katie Woo of The Athletic.

“There is a standard,” Marmol said. “You meet it, you play. You don’t meet it, you don’t play.” He further commented: “There’s going to be a style of play that we are known for. It’s going to involve effort and it’s going to involve being relentless. It’s going to involve being smart. We’re going to hold guys to that, because that’s how you sustain being good for a long time. There’s a lot of good players in that clubhouse, and down below, and I love competition. And the last thing you want to do when you’re in competition is open up a window.”

O’Neill doesn’t agree with Marmol’s view of the situation. “I’m trying to do everything I can to stay on the field and give it my best effort,” O’Neill said. “I’ve never been known to be a dogger in any caliber. So for him to say that is very strong words.” The outfielder also took exception to Marmol talking to the media about the situation. “I don’t think it should’ve been handled that way,” O’Neill said. “I think if there’s internal issues they should be handled internally. We should have each others backs out there. Sometimes it doesn’t go that way I guess. Live and you learn.”

The club came into the season with a glut of outfielders, including O’Neill, Carlson, Jordan Walker, Lars Nootbaar, Alec Burleson and Juan Yepez. Nootbaar is currently on the injured list but there’s still plenty of guys for three spots, while Nolan Gorman has been the designated hitter most days so far this year. Marmol’s comments suggest that his feelings about the play in question are strong enough that O’Neill is at risk of losing playing time beyond just today’s benching. Time will tell as to how it plays out in the long term, but O’Neill didn’t seem to have a good answer when asked how they will move past this. “I don’t know,” O’Neill said. “Continue with our communication. But really? I don’t know.”

O’Neill can be an excellent player when healthy, which he showed in 2021. He hit 34 home runs that year and slashed .286/.352/.560 for a wRC+ of 144. He also stole 15 bases and was given strong grades for his outfield defense, leading to a tally of 5.6 wins above replacement by FanGraphs. Last year, injuries limited him to 96 games and he wasn’t as impactful while on the field. He’s making $4.95MM this year and can be controlled via arbitration in 2024 before he’s slated to reach free agency.

Moving to less dramatic and more standard fare, Katie Woo also relayed some updates on injured members of the team. As mentioned, Nootbaar is currently on the IL, which is due to a thumb contusion. It seemed like he would likely have a short stay on the shelf and Woo relays that he may not even require a rehab assignment, though the club still isn’t sure about that. His return would further complicate the already-crowded outfield mix.

Adam Wainwright, on the injured list with a groin strain, will throw a bullpen tomorrow as he works his way back to health. Infielder Paul DeJong, who’s been out with a back issue, will begin a rehab assignment tomorrow, taking the designated hitter spot for Palm Beach.

Cardinals Place Lars Nootbaar On Injured List

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The Cardinals have placed outfielder Lars Nootbaar on the 10-day injured list. The placement, which is retroactive to March 31, is due to a left thumb contusion. Outfielder/designated hitter Juan Yepez has been recalled from Triple-A Memphis to take the vacant active roster spot.

Nootbaar suffered the injury diving into a base on Opening Day. He’d been testing the issue for the past few days but ultimately will require at least another week to recover. Nootbaar tested the thumb today while shagging fly balls during batting practice. He’s apparently still dealing with too much discomfort to play.

The Cards had given Nootbaar the Opening Day start in left field. He’d secured a regular lineup spot after breaking out with a .228/.340/.448 showing over 347 plate appearances last season. Paired with the promotion of top prospect Jordan Walker, the Cards relegated last year’s center fielder Dylan Carlson to the bench. One of Carlson or rookie Alec Burleson can step into the outfield alongside Walker and Tyler O’Neill while Nootbaar rehabs.

In other injury news out of Busch Stadium, the club informed reporters that starter Adam Wainwright threw his first bullpen session this afternoon (link via Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). The staff ace opened his final season on the injured list after straining his groin in late March. His timetable for a return to MLB action remains unclear, but getting back onto a mound marks a small step forward in the process.

Big Hype Prospects: Grissom, Liberatore, Soderstrom, Naylor, Silseth

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It feels good to breathe again – by which I mean identify players to write about based upon who is tearing up minor league ball. While there hasn’t been much action yet, we have many big-name prospects appearing in Triple-A boxscores. Catchers feature prominently this week.

Five Big Hype Prospects

Vaughn Grissom, 22, 2B/SS, ATL (AAA)
16 PA, 1 HR, 2 SB, .417/.563/1.083

One of the top performers of Opening Weekend, Grissom seeks to embarrass the Braves for choosing Orlando Arcia and Ehire Adrianza over him. This is his first exposure to Triple-A after spending most of 2022 in High-A and the Majors. The extra taste of upper-minors action could be designed to avoid a developmental setback related to facing Major League pitching. Grissom appeared overexposed late last season once scouting reports were refined. There are still questions about his shortstop defense – questions that should be answered during the course of 2023.

Matthew Liberatore, 23, SP, STL (AAA)
5 IP, 12.60 K/9, 3.60 BB/9, 0.00 ERA

Of the prospect pitchers in Triple-A, Liberatore posted the best 2023 debut. He allowed six baserunners in five innings of work with seven strikeouts. Liberatore is a complicated player to scout. His individual pitches rate well, especially a visually filthy curve ball. The issue is his curve doesn’t tunnel with any of his other offerings, making it identifiable out of the hand. Last season, Liberatore worked to a 5.17 ERA in Triple-A with a 5.97 ERA in 34.2 Major League innings.

Tyler Soderstrom, 21, C/1B, OAK (AAA)
10 PA, 1 HR, .556/.600/1.222

A first-round pick from the wonky 2020 draft, Soderstrom surged through the minors last season. His bat is his calling card. He’s particularly adept at producing high exit velocities at an ideal launch angle. Defensively, he leaves much to be desired. While he could conceivably stick at catcher with several more years of hard work, his bat is nearly Major League ready and should play at first base. For that reason, as well as the presence of Shea Langeliers, Soderstrom is widely expected to switch to the cold corner on a more permanent basis this season.

Bo Naylor, 23, C, CLE (AAA)
15 PA, 2 HR, .385/.467/.923

Naylor is coming off a huge rebound season in the minors with an aim toward building upon his reputation as a power-hitting backstop. He has above-average speed for a catcher and could potentially move off the position over the long haul. His defensive capability is viewed as below average at this time. For now, the Guardians have rostered a trio of catchers known mainly for their defense. Like Soderstrom, Naylor’s bat is his carrying trait. He is a discipline-forward slugger whose high rate of contact is offset by an unwillingness to swing at pitches he can’t barrel. The result is a high strikeout rate despite a low swinging strike rate.

Chase Silseth, 23, SP, LAA (AAA)
5 IP, 10.80 K/9, 1.80 BB/9, 0.00

Silseth popped up as a standout in Double-A early last season. The pitching-needy Angels brought him directly to the Majors where he posted a 6.59 ERA (4.24 xFIP) in 28.2 innings. Silseth has a five-pitch repertoire. I’ve received mixed notes on his command. While we know he doesn’t issue many free passes, that could be because his stuff plays in the zone against minor league hitters. His best offering is a splitter. Silseth himself blamed the splitter for his poor performance in the Majors, noting that he needed the pitch to be on to succeed. Splitter consistency is a difficult trait to develop, especially for a starting pitcher. Don’t be surprised if he’s inconsistent as he loses and regains feel for his top weapon.

Three More

Matt Mervis, CHC (25): Mervis is an odd prospect in that he continues to torch the ball, yet scouts doubt his ability to hold a regular role in the Majors. He has a 1.167 OPS through 15 plate appearances. We should see him tested against Major League pitching before the calendar flips to summer.

Brett Baty, NYM (24): Baty’s strong spring continued into Triple-A. He has two home runs, a stolen base, and a 1.257 OPS through 15 plate appearances. Mets fans on social media are eager to see Baty oust Eduardo Escobar who is currently 1-for-16 with seven strikeouts.

Connor Norby, BAL (22): The Orioles’ impending glut of middle infielders includes Norby. The second baseman consistently outperforms his modest scouting grades. Bear in mind, the Orioles’ minor league venues are far friendlier to right-handed batters than Camden Yards. Norby strikes me as an obvious trade candidate later this summer.

Cardinals Notes: Contreras, Nootbaar, Gallegos, Wainwright

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Cardinals manager Oli Marmol provided a litany of injury updates yesterday to reporters, including Lynn Worthy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Among those was an update on catcher Willson Contreras, who took a 103 mph sinker from Cardinals flamethrower Jordan Hicks off his knee in the season’s opener on Thursday and had to be helped off the field. Both x-rays and an MRI came back negative, and Contreras said he could return to the lineup as soon as today after briefly catching warm-up pitches for Jack Flaherty between innings on Saturday.

Contreras, 31 in May, was the Cardinals’ biggest addition of the offseason on a five-year, $87.5MM deal. Prior to signing with St. Louis, Contreras was the everyday catcher for the division rival Cubs since his debut during the 2016 season, posting a 118 wRC+ in seven seasons and racking up three All Star appearances. One of those All Star selections came during the 2022 campaign, which was the best of Contreras’s career: in 113 games, Contreras posted a career low 21.1% strikeout rate and career highs in both wRC+ and fWAR despite a career-low BABIP of just .270.

In signing Contreras, the Cardinals appear to have found their replacement not only to Yadier Molina behind the plate, but also to the thump Albert Pujols provided their lineup in 2022. Given his importance to the club, it’s surely a relief for St. Louis that Contreras’s leg injury is not particularly serious. Andrew Knizner started behind the plate in Saturday’s game, with Taylor Motter and Brendan Donovan among the possible options to catch on an emergency basis while Contreras was unavailable.

More from St. Louis…

  • Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar also suffered an injury during the season opener on Thursday, having injured his thumb on a slide into third base. Nootbaar, who was out of the lineup yesterday and hopes to play catch today, is considered day-to-day. The 25 year-old outfielder was a revelation for the Cardinals last year, slashing .228/.340/.448 in 108 games with a 20.5% strikeout rate and a phenomenal 14.5% walk rate. While Nootbaar is unavailable, Dylan Carlson figures to take the newly-available starts in the outfield alongside Jordan Walker and Tyler O’Neill.
  • Reliever Giovanny Gallegos has yet to make his season debut after suffering from back tightness ahead of season opener on Thursday. Marmol expressed optimism about Gallegos, however, noting that his MRI came back clean and that, in a best case scenario, Gallegos could be available out of the bullpen as soon as today. Gallegos has been among the most reliable relievers in the game since he was acquired by the Cardinals in 2018, posting identical ERA and FIP figures of 2.82 in 229 2/3 innings of work while racking up 33 saves.
  • Starting pitcher Adam Wainwright still appears a ways away from returning from the injured list to make his season debut, as he progressed to playing catch off flat ground yesterday. On the shelf with a groin injury suffered in the weight room while with Team USA during the World Baseball Classic, the 41 year-old Wainwright is set to retire at season’s end. Wainwright has seen a late-career resurgence in recent years, posting a 3.34 ERA and 3.72 FIP in 463 2/3 innings since the start of the 2020 season. Until Wainwright is ready for his season debut, right-hander Jake Woodford is set to take his turn in the rotation.

Diamondbacks Acquire Anthony Misiewicz

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The Diamondbacks have acquired left-hander Anthony Misiewicz from the Cardinals, per announcements from both clubs. The D’Backs will send cash considerations to St. Louis in exchange. To open a spot on their roster, Arizona transferred right-hander Corbin Martin to the 60-day injured list.

Misiewicz, 28, has pitched in the past three big league seasons, mostly with the Mariners but also with the Royals. In 103 2/3 innings, he has a career 4.43 ERA, striking out 23.9% of batters faced, walking 7% and getting grounders at a 38.6% clip. The Royals designated him for assignment when they re-signed Zack Greinke in February, then flipped Misiewicz across Missouri for cash.

The southpaw had a decent spring, allowing two earned runs in seven innings, striking out eight batters against one walk. However, he got squeezed off the roster by a couple of factors. One is that prospect Jordan Walker’s meteoric rise led to him needing an Opening Day roster spot. Second, the Cards had a bunch of lefty relief options on the roster in Zack Thompson, Packy Naughton, Génesis Cabrera and JoJo Romero. When the time came to add Walker to the roster, it seems Misiewicz was considered the most expendable and was designated for assignment earlier this week.

He’ll now head to the Diamondbacks, though he may not be ticketed for the active roster since he still has a couple of options. The club currently has Andrew Chafin and Kyle Nelson as their left-handed relief options in the big leagues. Misiewicz could make it three but they could also send him to Triple-A to serve as depth until needed. Misiewicz has between two and three years of MLB service time and can be controlled via arbitration through the 2026 season, though optional assignments could push that back.

In order to open up a spot for Misiewicz, Martin has been moved to the 60-day IL. That move doesn’t come as a surprise since he recently underwent lat tendon surgery and will likely miss the entire 2023 season.

Cardinals Designate Anthony Misiewicz For Assignment

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The Cardinals announced they have designated left-hander Anthony Misiewicz for assignment. The move opens up a spot on the 40-man roster for prospect Jordan Walker, whose previously-reported selection is now official. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on the moves prior to the official announcement.

Misiewicz, 28, has only been a Cardinal for a few weeks. The club sent cash considerations to the Royals in February in order to acquire the southpaw, after the latter club designated him for assignment to make room on their roster for Zack Greinke. He’s made 119 appearances over the past three seasons with the Royals and Mariners, posting a 4.43 ERA with a 23.9% strikeout rate, 7% walk rate and 38.6% ground ball rate.

The lefty had a solid enough spring, allowing two earned runs in seven innings, striking out eight batters against one walk. However, the Cards have a number of left-handed options for their bullpen and have recently optioned Misiewicz, Génesis Cabrera and JoJo Romero, leaving Zack Thompson and Packy Naughton on the Opening Day roster. Though the club liked Misiewicz enough to give up some cash to get him just a few weeks ago, it seems Walker’s ascension forced them to make a tough choice and cut the lefty from the roster.

They will now have one week to work out a trade or try to pass Misiewicz through waivers. Given that left-handed pitching it always in demand, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him garner interest from some other club in the league.

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