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Dakota Hudson To Undergo MRI On Elbow

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Cardinals right-hander Dakota Hudson left the team’s game against the Pirates early on Thursday with elbow tightness. He’ll undergo an MRI on Friday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Hudson departed after throwing just two innings in another defeat for the Cardinals, who are 22-24 and fighting for a wild-card spot. Hudson has been an asset for the team, evidenced by his 2.77 ERA over 39 innings. It’s the third straight year in which he has defied fielding-independent numbers to post much better run prevention figures, evidenced by the 3.20 ERA and 4.72 FIP he has recorded over 239 innings since debuting in 2018. Hudson’s strikeout and walk rates (7.0 K/9 against 4.41 BB/9) haven’t been good, but he has offset those to some degree with a 57.4 groundball percentage.

At the very least, the Cardinals appear to have a legitimate MLB starter in Hudson, so the hope is that his elbow issue won’t stop him from pitching the rest of this year or cause him to miss time in 2021. The Cardinals may need all the rotation help they can get then with Hudson, Jack Flaherty and Kwang Hyun Kim seemingly the only members of their staff likely to start for the club then. They could also get Miles Mikolas back from surgery on a right flexor tendon, though, while it remains to be seen whether Adam Wainwright will continue his career in 2021.

Cardinals Designate Rob Kaminsky Amid Flurry Of Roster Moves

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The Cardinals announced a series of roster moves Wednesday, perhaps most notably designating left-hander Rob Kaminsky for assignment. The Cards also reinstated Johan Oviedo from the Covid-19 injured list and recalled both infielder Max Schrock and righty Junior Fernandez from the alternate training site. Right-hander Nabil Crismatt and outfielder Lane Thomas were optioned to the alternate site in a pair of corresponding moves, while outfielder Justin Williams is up from the alternate site as the 29th man for today’s doubleheader.

Kaminsky, a former first-round pick of the Cardinals (28th overall in 2013) made his Major League debut as a 26-year-old this season. He didn’t take the most direct route, as he was traded to the Indians for Brandon Moss several years ago, eventually released in Cleveland and returned to the Cards on a minor league deal. The rocky journey likely only made his return to the organization and 2020 MLB debut that much sweeter for Kaminsky, but it appears his time in the big leagues will be short-lived — at least in this go-around.

Kaminsky tossed 4 2/3 innings of relief for the Cards this year, allowing two earned runs on three hits and a pair of walks with three strikeouts and a 60 percent ground-ball rate. The Cards can’t explore trades involving him at this point, so if they hope to keep Kaminsky in the organization, they’ll have to count on him clearing outright waivers. Kaminsky wouldn’t be postseason-eligible if another club claimed him, but he can be controlled through at least the 2026 season if a team was impressed by his big league work in a limited sample this year.

Austin Dean Lands On Injured List

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  • The Cardinals placed outfielder Austin Dean on the 10-day injured list due to a right elbow strain, per a club announcement. His injury comes just three days after returning from the Covid-19 injured list. The three games in which the 26-year-old Dean were his only appearances on the season. He went 1-for-4 with a double and three walks in that short time. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that Dean might have avoided the IL were the club not pressed for bullpen arms, so it seems there’s a chance Dean will return before season’s end. Acquired in a January trade with the Marlins, Dean hasn’t yet had the opportunity to prove himself with his new club. He’s just a .224/.274/.390 hitter in 318 MLB plate appearances, but he carries a much more robust .331/.398/.546 line in 640 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.

Kwang Hyun Kim To Return On Monday

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  • Kwang Hyun Kim is scheduled to start the first game of the Cardinals’ doubleheader with the Brewers on Monday, marking his return from an injured list stint that retroactively began on September 2.  Kim was sidelined with a kidney problem that required a short stay in hospital, but as MLB.com’s Anne Rogers explains, Kim is now taking a blood thinner and observing other precautions that will allow him to return to action after slightly beyond the 10-day minimum IL absence.  In his first season in Major League Baseball, Kim has thus far had no problem adjusting, as the southpaw has an 0.83 ERA over his first 21 2/3 innings, starting four of his five appearances.

Cardinals Place Giovanny Gallegos On 10-Day IL

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The Cardinals announced that they’ve placed right-hander Giovanny Gallegos on the 10-day injured list with a right groin strain. They recalled righty Nabil Crismatt from their alternate training site in a corresponding move.

The loss of Gallegos is a significant one for the Cardinals, considering what he has meant to their bullpen since he broke out in 2019. He posted a 2.31 ERA/3.05 FIP in 74 innings then in his first season as a Cardinal and has continued to be a key member of their relief corps this year, having tossed 11 1/3 frames of 3.97 ERA/2.65 FIP pitching with 11.12 K/9 and 2.38 BB/9.

Along with notching strong bottom-line results, Gallegos leads the playoff-contending Cardinals with four saves. Andrew Miller is the only other Cardinal with more than one save (two). Miller and John Gant, St. Louis’ best reliever this year, could be next in line for save chances now that Gallegos is out. It’s unclear how much time Gallegos will miss, but with so little time left, it’s possible he won’t return to the Cardinals this regular season.

Cardinals Outright Ryan Meisinger

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Cardinals right-hander Ryan Meisinger cleared waivers and was assigned outright to the team’s alternate training site, according to the team’s transactions log at MLB.com. He was designated for assignment when St. Louis reinstated Carlos Martinez from the injured list earlier this week.

Meisinger, 26, was a waiver claim out of the Orioles organization prior to the 2019 season and has had some strong performances in the upper minors. However, although he boasts a 2.73 ERA and 78-to-20 K/BB ratio through 62 2/3 Triple-A frames, Meisinger has received minimal opportunity in the big leagues. He’s logged just 23 2/3 innings in the big leagues, most of which came with the 2018 Orioles. He hasn’t found success to date, but it’s obviously a rather small sample of work.

That solid body of work in Triple-A apparently didn’t get him claimed by another club in search of bullpen depth, however. He’s been outrighted previously, so he could reject the assignment in favor of free agency. If he accepts, Meisinger will rejoin the Cardinals’ 60-man player pool and remain eligible to return to the club in the final couple weeks of the 2020 season.

Cardinals Place Johan Oviedo On IL

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  • Cardinals righty Johan Oviedo is in COVID-19 quarantine, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Oviedo hasn’t tested positive for the illness, but he was exposed to someone who did. As a result, the Cardinals – whose season was halted for a couple weeks last month because of the virus – are taking a cautious approach. They placed Oviedo on the IL on Thursday. It seems righty Carlos Martinez will take over in the Cardinals’ rotation for Oviedo, a 22-year-old rookie who has put up a 4.66 ERA/4.26 FIP in his first four starts and 19 1/3 innings in the bigs.

Cardinals Activate Carlos Martinez, Option Dylan Carlson

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The St. Louis Cardinals announced the activation of pitcher Carlos Martinez from the injured list today. Martinez has been on the COVID-19 injured list since July.

The plan had been for Martinez to return to the rotation this year after pitching exclusively out of the bullpen in 2019. Martinez made just one start before the outbreak of COVID-19 shut down his season. He’ll likely return to the rotation for one of today’s doubleheader games.

To make room on the 40-man roster, Ryan Meisinger was designated for assignment. Meisinger, 26, made two appearances, logging 2 2/3 scoreless frames, allowing 1 hit and 4 walks, while striking out 3. After making his major league debut with the Orioles in 2018, the Cardinals selected Meisinger off waivers and stored him in Triple-A for 2019, where he put up 35 frames of a 3.09 ERA.

Dylan Carlson has also been optioned to the team’s alternate training site to make room on the active roster. The move was made primarily because of a lack of playing time for Carlson, per Derrick S. Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter). The 21-year-old outfielder slashed .162/.215/.243 across 79 plate appearances during his first taste of the show.

Given the other options available, it’s a little suspect that the Cardinals couldn’t find playing time for Carlson – should that have been their goal. Fellow outfielders Dexter Fowler and Austin Dean remain out following COVID-19 protocols. Other options in the outfield have struggled for the Cardinals. Lane Thomas (52 wRC+, 225 PA) and Tyler O’Neill (76 wRC+, 98 PA) are options to flank Harrison Bader (140 wRC+) in the grass, though Tommy Edman and Rangel Ravelo could also see time in the outfield. Brad Miller has some experience in the outfield, but the Cardinals have yet to play him there.

Lou Brock Passes Away

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Cardinals legend Lou Brock passed away today at age 81.  According to Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Hall-of-Famer had been dealing with “a number of medical conditions in recent years.”

Over 19 seasons in the majors, Brock displayed nothing less than mastery of the basepaths, recording 938 stolen bases (from 1245 total chances).  Brock is the National League’s all-time stolen base leader, and his 118 steals in 1974 is also the league’s single-season record.  Only Rickey Henderson has more career steals in Major League history, and given how the stolen base has become a less-popular tactic in recent years, it certainly seems like Henderson and Brock will continue to reign atop the all-time steals list for decades to come.

Beyond the stolen bases, Brock was a big contributor all over the field.  Brock hit .293/.343/.410 over 11240 plate appearances and his 3023 career hits rank him 28th on the all-time hit list.  Brock was a six-time All-Star and won two World Series rings with the Cardinals, coming up big for St. Louis in the postseason.  Over 92 career World Series plate appearances, Brock hit a whopping .391/.424/.655 with four homers (while also going 14-for-16 on stolen base attempts).

A little over 15 and a half of Brock’s MLB seasons were spent with the Cards, and his 2289 games played in a St. Louis uniform is second behind Stan Musial on the franchise’s all-time list.  Ironically, Brock’s arrival in St. Louis was met with little fanfare, as he was part of a six-player trade with the Cubs in June 1964 that saw Brock and two other players join the Cardinals, while three other players (most notably accomplished starter Ernie Broglio) headed to Chicago.  As Hummel noted, many Cards fans and even players weren’t pleased at the trade, yet it has now gone down as one of the more famously lopsided deals in baseball history, not to mention a major plank of the ever-heated Cardinals/Cubs rivalry.

Brock went into Cooperstown as a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer in 1985, and his post-playing endeavors included some TV commentary work and a special instructor role for the Cardinals.  All of us at MLB Trade Rumors sent our condolences to Brock’s family, friends, and many fans.

Cardinals Make Multiple Roster Moves

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The Cardinals today made a series of roster moves, placing LHP Kwang-Hyun Kim on the 10-day injured list and activated Andrew Miller from the IL, via Anne Rogers of MLB.com. Additionally, they’ve swapped backup catchers, optioning Andrew Knizner and reinstating Matt Wieters from the injured list (courtesy of Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch).

According to Goold, Kim was taken to the hospital this morning due to a kidney ailment. He’ll be released today, and the Cardinals are optimistic that the lefty will pitch again this season once he undergoes treatment. His IL placement is retroactive to Wednesday, September 2.

With Kim slated to start Sunday’s game, the Cardinals will have to scramble to cobble together a starting rotation in the coming days. Indeed, Dakota Hudson, originally expected to start the second game of today’s doubleheader, will instead start tomorrow. The Cardinals will opt for a bullpen game in Saturday’s nightcap.

Kim, who inked a two-year, $8MM deal with the Cardinals following his success in the KBO, has been one of the most reliable pitchers in the St. Louis staff thus far, having notched a 0.83 ERA through his first 21 2/3 innings of MLB work (4 starts).

Meanwhile, neither Wieters nor Knizner has received much playing time with Yadier Molina hogging all the catcher reps in St. Louis, but the Cardinals will give the nod to the veteran Wieters, now healthy after suffering a broken toe. Miller will rejoin the Cardinal bullpen after missing 12 games due to left shoulder fatigue. He’s pitched just 5 2/3 innings for St. Louis this year, notching a 4.76 ERA and striking out 6 batters.

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