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Cardinals To Promote Thomas Saggese

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The Cardinals are set to call up infield prospect Thomas Saggese for his major league debut, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. He’s not on the 40-man roster, so St. Louis will need to formally select his contract from Triple-A Memphis. The Cards already have a pair of vacancies on the 40-man, however, so they’ll only need a corresponding move on the active 28-man roster.

Saggese, 22, was acquired from the Rangers in the 2023 deadline trade sending left-hander Jordan Montgomery and reliever Chris Stratton to Texas. Baseball America currently ranks him as the system’s fifth-best prospect. He’s hitting .253/.313/.438 with 20 home runs, 23 doubles, three triples, nine steals (in 13 attempts), a 23.1% strikeout rate and 5.9% walk rate in 528 plate appearances this season. BA describes Saggese as a “bat-first middle infielder” with an aggressive approach but above-average contact skills and a knack for barreling the ball.

Though he’s spent time at all three infield positions to the left of first base, Saggese’s primary position in the minors has been second base. He’s logged more time at shortstop than second base this season, perhaps in a bid to diversify his skill set, but Masyn Winn’s breakout has solidified shortstop at Busch Stadium and Nolan Arenado remains entrenched at the hot corner. Saggese’s clearest path to a regular role with the Cardinals will be at second base, which scouting reports feel is his best position anyhow. He has competition in the long term, primarily in the form of Nolan Gorman, but the slugging Gorman has struggled this season and has yet to clearly stake his claim as the Cards’ second baseman of the future.

Gorman’s struggles reached a boiling point last month, when he was optioned to Triple-A himself. The Cardinals have been using versatile Brendan Donovan at second base since, but Donovan has been hobbled by a foot injury recently and (speculatively speaking) could be bound for the injured list. Even if Donovan avoids and IL stint, calling Saggese to the majors both gives the Cardinals a short-term alternative and affords them a look at a potential key piece of their future infield.

Saggese also provides some insurance for Winn at shortstop in the event that Donovan misses either a couple more games — he was out of Sunday’s lineup — or heads to the injured list. Prior to the Saggese move, Jose Fermin was the only shortstop option on the roster other than Winn and Donovan. If Donovan is sidelined for any period of time, Fermin would’ve been ticketed to step in and second base, leaving the Cards with no real backup to Winn at short.

Saggese would’ve been eligible for the Rule 5 Draft this offseason and would’ve been a slam-dunk to be selected, so the Cardinals were always going to add him to the roster prior to mid-November’s protection deadline. The current health status of their infield group may have forced the issue a bit sooner, but that’ll only serve to get Saggese some late-season reps against big league pitching — a notable development for him given that he’d almost certainly have been called to the majors at some point in 2025 anyhow. He obviously won’t receive a full year of service at this point, so Saggese remains on track for free agency no earlier than the 2030-31 offseason and arbitration eligibility no sooner than the 2027-28 offseason.

Cardinals To Activate Lance Lynn On Wednesday

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The Cardinals are planning to activate right-hander Lance Lynn from the 15-day injured list on Wednesday, as noted by The Athletic’s Katie Woo. Lynn will take the ball for a start against the Reds in St. Louis when he returns to action. The veteran right-hander has been on the injured list for just over a month due to a bout of knee inflammation.

Lynn, 37, pitched decently enough for the Cardinals in 21 starts prior to going on the IL. In 106 1/3 innings of work, he posted a roughly league average 4.06 ERA (105 ERA+) with a 4.46 FIP and a 20.8% strikeout rate. Lynn pitched quite well for St. Louis throughout the first half but his numbers took a sharp turn for the worse in July, when he pitched to a 6.27 ERA and 7.04 FIP in just 18 2/3 innings of work across four starts.

Even with that ghastly performance in his last four starts before hitting the IL, however, his overall numbers this season are much better than they were in 2023 and roughly comparable to the 2022 campaign, when he posted a 3.99 ERA (99 ERA+) and 3.82 FIP in 21 starts. While the veteran right-hander is no longer close to the same pitcher who posted a sterling 3.26 ERA (146 ERA+) and 3.39 FIP with a 27.5% strikeout rate and three consecutive top-6 finishes in AL Cy Young award voting from 2019 to 2021, he’s still proven to be a capable back-end rotation option after a disastrous 2023 season where he struggled to a 5.73 ERA (77 ERA+) with a 5.53 FIP in 183 2/3 innings of work.

Given Lynn’s value as a steady back-of-the-rotation arm and the Cardinals’ lack of starting pitching depth headed into 2025, it’s no surprise that the club would want Lynn to make a few starts down the stretch as they evaluate whether to pick up their $12MM option on his services for next year or decline the option in favor of a $1MM buyout. They have an identical decision on their hands regarding fellow veteran righty Kyle Gibson, who has pitched to a 4.39 ERA (97 ERA+) with a 4.26 FIP in 26 starts with the club during his age-36 season this year.

With those decisions looming after the season comes to a close, the Cardinals also figure to use the last few weeks of the season to evaluate right-hander Andre Pallante’s viability as a long-term rotation option for the club. The 25-year-old’s 4.07 ERA (105 ERA+) and 4.08 FIP aren’t especially spectacular, but he’s looked very impressive since moving from the bullpen to the rotation in late May with a 3.81 ERA and 4.00 FIP in his last 87 1/3 innings of work spread across 16 starts. Staff ace Sonny Gray and longtime veteran Miles Mikolas both appear to be entrenched in their current rotation roles as well, and that’s left southpaw Steven Matz as the odd man out of the club’s rotation picture.

According to Woo, the lefty is set to be available out of the bullpen starting tomorrow, after making just one start since returning from a lengthy trip to the injured list that wiped out four months of his 2024 campaign. The 33-year-old signed with the Cardinals on a four-year, $44MM deal prior to the 2022 season but that contract hasn’t panned out as he’s struggled to a 4.61 ERA (98 ERA+) despite a solid 3.98 FIP. He’s also been limited to just 185 1/3 innings of work over the past three years by injuries and multiple moves to the bullpen, and figures to act as a back-end rotation option and long relief arm for the club once again in 2025, depending on the needs of the roster and the lefty’s performance.

Daniel Castano Announces Retirement

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Left-handed pitcher Daniel Castano announced his retirement via a post on his personal Instagram account. “After 25 Baseball seasons, 9 years pro, 3 in college, 4 in HS, and 10 years of little league, I’m finally hanging up the cleats and for my more important career in life,” the post reads. “To be a loving Husband, father, friend, churchman and employee.” He goes on to thank the many people who helped him on his journey and mentions he will be pivoting to a role with Entrusted Contracting.

As Castano himself mentioned, his baseball journey had many stops. He pitched at Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas, which then led him to Baylor University. He pitched three seasons for the Bears before the Cardinals selected him in the 19th round of the 2016 draft.

Just over a year later, Castano was flipped to the Marlins. Zac Gallen, Sandy Alcántara, Magneuris Sierra and Castano were sent to Miami in the December 2017 trade that sent Marcell Ozuna to St. Louis. Castano made it to the big leagues with the Fish in 2020, the first of four straight major league campaigns in which he appeared. He logged 88 2/3 frames over those four seasons, allowing 4.47 earned runs per nine. His 12.4% strikeout rate wasn’t especially strong but he limited walks to a 7.9% clip and kept 45.2% of balls in play on the ground.

The Marlins shuffled Castano on and off their roster in 2023 but he wasn’t holding a 40-man spot at the end of the season and became a free agent. In December, he landed a deal with the NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization. He made 19 starts for the Dinos this year, posting a 4.35 ERA in 111 2/3 innings. At the end of July, the Dinos signed Eric Jokisch and bumped off Castano, as a KBO team can only have two non-Korean pitchers on its roster.

Now it seems Castano has decided it’s time to move on from baseball and move towards, as he puts it, his “more important career in life.” We at MLBTR salute him on carving out a big league career and we wish him the best for the upcoming chapters of his life.

Paul Goldschmidt Plans To Continue Playing In 2025

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Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt is having the least-productive season of his storied big league career, but the soon-to-be 37-year-old made clear to MLB.com’s John Denton that he has every intention of continuing his career in 2025. The seven-time All-Star was named the National League MVP as recently as 2022, but he’s seen a notable drop-off in virtually every offensive category in 2024 — to the point where he for the first time in his career has been a below-average hitter (99 wRC+, 96 OPS+).

On the season, Goldschmidt carries just a .244/.302/.410 batting line. He’s still popped 20 home runs, but his 27.2% strikeout rate and 7.3% walk rates are the worst of his career. To his credit, Goldschmidt has righted the ship of late; over his past 150 plate appearances, he’s slashing a much-improved .295/.342/.532 (141 wRC+). He’s still not walking anywhere near his career 12.7% rate (6.3% during this hot streak), but he’s cut his strikeout rate (23.3%) to be closer to his career levels.

Goldschmidt made no excuses regarding his struggles this year, noting that even spite of solid batted-ball and running metrics via Statcast, “there’s no denying I haven’t played well.” The five-time Silver Slugger winner acknowledged that his struggles have “created some bad habits” with his swing that have been hard to break. Fans of both the Cardinals and Goldschmidt will want to check out the interview in full, as Goldschmidt offers candid reviews of a down season at the plate. Denton also spoke with manager Oli Marmol who said he “loves” Goldschmidt when asked about a potential reunion for the upcoming 2025 season.

Obviously, that won’t be Marmol’s call at the end of the day. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak originally acquired Goldschmidt from the D-backs (in exchange for Carson Kelly, Luke Weaver, Andrew Young and a 2019 competitive balance draft pick the D-backs used to select Dominic Fletcher, whom they traded to acquire righty Cristian Mena this past offseason). The Cardinals quickly extended Goldschmidt on a five-year, $130MM contract, and he’s playing out the final season of what’s proven to be a good deal for the club at the moment.

The Cardinals reportedly have some interest in bringing Goldschmidt back, but there are in-house options to consider as well. Twenty-five-year-old Alec Burleson opened the season with two months of roughly average offense at the plate before catching fire in the summer. He’s now hitting .280/.320/.453 on the season overall. Burleson has primarily served as a corner outfielder and designated hitter in 2024, but he’s not a strong defender in the outfield. A move to first base could be of benefit, particularly if the Cardinals envision another shaky defender, Jordan Walker, as the team’s right fielder in future seasons.

There’s also 27-year-old Luken Baker to consider. While he’s older than the standard “prospect,” Baker bashed 33 home runs in just 84 Triple-A games in 2023 and has swatted another 32 big flies in 108 Triple-A games this season. He’s yet to hit in his tiny sample of 126 big league plate appearances (.202/.325/.356, 30.2% strikeout rate), but Baker’s Triple-A track record of hitting for power is intriguing. At the very least, his right-handed bat could pair with the lefty-swinging Burleson to form a platoon, with both players also seeing some time at designated hitter. Baker has decimated lefties this season, posting a 1.142 OPS and homering in 15 of his 150 plate appearances against them.

A Goldschmidt reunion would limit the playing time for both Burleson and Baker. It’d be understandable if the Cards’ front office wanted to take whatever resources would be put toward a Goldschmidt deal and reallocate them to pitching help. At the same time, if the Cards believe the late surge from Goldschmidt is a portent for a rebound in 2025, then re-signing him on a short-term deal has obvious appeal.

From a payroll vantage point, there’s a compelling case to use the resources elsewhere. The Cardinals’ payroll has landed within a couple million dollars of $180MM in each of the past two seasons ($183MM in 2024), and per RosterResource, they have about $111MM on next year’s books already. That doesn’t include decisions on the matching $12MM options on Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn, nor does it include arbitration raises for Ryan Helsley, JoJo Romero, John King, Lars Nootbaar, Brendan Donovan, Andre Pallante and Nolan Gorman.

Even at a presumably reduced rate from his current $26MM annual salary, Goldschmidt would likely still push the Cardinals north of $150MM (assuming arb raises for the entire class and just one of those two rotation options being picked up) before addressing any other potential offensive upgrades or starting pitching additions. That money could arguably be better spent focusing on other areas and turning first base over to a combination of Burleson and Baker — or perhaps simply a lower-cost free agent option (e.g. Carlos Santana).

Goldschmidt’s future is one of several key decisions for the Cardinals as they look to put disappointing 2023-24 seasons behind them. Last year’s club went 71-91, finishing last place in the NL Central. At 69-69, they’ll finish better than that in 2024, but they’re 5.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot with only 24 games to play, making a postseason berth overwhelmingly unlikely this season as well. That would be their first consecutive postseason misses since a three-year absence from playoff play in 2016-18 and mark just the third time since the turn of the century that St. Louis has missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.

Cardinals Sign Chance Sisco To Minor League Contract

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The Cardinals signed catcher Chance Sisco to a minor league deal last week, as initially noted on Sisco’s MLB.com profile page.  Sisco has already been on the field with Triple-A Memphis, which marked his first action in affiliated ball since he played with the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate in 2022.

Formerly a top-100 prospect during his days in the Orioles’ farm system, Sisco had a few flashes of that potential over four-plus MLB seasons in Baltimore from 2017-21, but he ended his O’s tenure with a .199/.319/.339 slash line over 598 plate appearances.  After the Mets claimed Sisco off the Orioles’ waiver wire in June 2021, the catcher appeared in five games with New York and he hasn’t since been back in the big leagues.

Following his 2022 season in the Twins’ farm system, Sisco played in the Mexican League in 2023, and has spent parts of the last two seasons with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League.  He has a whopping .274/.416/.609 slash line over his 399 PA with the Ducks, and that production helped land a spot on the Memphis roster.

Sisco gives the Cardinals a bit of extra catching depth while Willson Contreras is on the 10-day injured list.  Contreras fractured his middle finger after being hit by a pitch on August 24, but the fracture wasn’t serious enough to require surgery, so he is tentatively slated to return around the middle of September.  Ivan Herrera and Pedro Pages are handling catching duties in the interim, and Sisco brings a bit of added experience at the Triple-A level.

Royals Claim Tommy Pham, Robbie Grossman

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The Royals are bolstering their outfield with a pair of veterans, as K.C. has claimed both Tommy Pham and Robbie Grossman off waivers.  The Athletic’s Katie Woo reported (X link) that Pham was claimed off the Cardinals’ waiver wire after St. Louis designated him for assignment yesterday, and MLB.com’s Anne Rogers (via X) reported that the Royals also claimed Grossman away from the Rangers.  Texas placed Grossman on outright waivers on Thursday.

Because these additions were made before September 1, Pham and Grossman would be eligible for the Royals’ postseason roster if K.C. makes it into the playoff bracket.  Coming off a dismal 106-loss season in 2023, the Royals have already far surpassed last year’s win total by posting a 75-61 record — Kansas City is in possession of the second AL wild card berth, and sit 2.5 games behind the Guardians for first place in the AL Central.

Despite this success, the outfield has been a clear weak link for K.C. for much of the season, and the ranks got even further thinned when Hunter Renfroe was placed on the injured list last week.  Beyond losing Renfroe, the Royals’ lineup took another big hit when Vinnie Pasquantino suffered a broken thumb Thursday and will likely miss the rest of the regular season.

The Royals were one of several teams who had interest in Pham prior to the trade deadline, when Pham was a very obvious trade candidate as a veteran rental on a rebuilding White Sox team.  The Cardinals ended up with Pham and Erick Fedde as part of a three-team trade involving the Dodgers and White Sox at the deadline, as St. Louis was hoping that Pham and right-hander Erick Fedde could boost both the lineup and rotation heading into the playoff stretch.

Unfortunately for Cards Nation, no surge materialized, as the Cardinals have an 11-16 record in August.  Pham himself didn’t provide much help, hitting .206/.286/.368 over 77 plate appearances during his brief stint in a St. Louis uniform.

Since Pham both wanted more playing time and wanted to join a contender, he discussed the possibility of a release with the Cardinals, and that wish has now been fully granted with the move across Missouri to the Royals.  From the Cardinals’ perspective, parting ways with Pham both created more outfield playing time for Jordan Walker, and saved a bit of payroll.  Pham has roughly $480K remaining on his original $3MM salary for the 2024 season, and Kansas City will now foot the rest of that bill.

The switch-hitting Grossman also began his season as a member of the White Sox, but was traded in May back to the Rangers, as Texas was thin on right-handed hitting.  Grossman was a known quantity in Arlington after being a regular for the 2023 World Series team, and he posted similar numbers in his second go-around as a Ranger, batting .238/.336/.362 over 122 PA for Texas this season.

The Rangers’ defense of their title has fallen far short of expectations, and thus the team put both Grossman and fellow outfielder Travis Jankowski on outright waivers to see if another team would clear a few dollars off the Rangers’ books.  Grossman has about $240K remaining of his $1.5MM base salary, so it makes for another inexpensive add for the Royals.

Grossman has continued to mash left-handed pitching and Pham has continued to post solid numbers against southpaws as well, giving Kansas City two new options to work within the lineup.  Either player could slot into Renfroe’s role as a regular right fielder who cedes some at-bats against righties to Adam Frazier, or either Pham or Grossman could spell MJ Melendez (another left-handed bat) in left field.  With the DH spot also up for grabs, it isn’t hard to imagine Pham or Grossman moving into more or less everyday roles, at least until Renfroe is able to return.

The Royals will be the ninth team Pham has suited up with at the MLB level over the course of his 11 big league seasons, while Grossman is joining his eighth team in a 12-year career in the Show.  The duo bring plenty of experience to a young Royals team, and we just need to look back to 2023 to see how Grossman and Pham (after he joined the Diamondbacks) can help out a playoff contender.

With a playoff berth hanging in the balance, general manager J.J. Picollo has now moved aggressively to try and address his team’s lineup needs before the September 1 cutoff date.  Depending on what happens in the pennant race, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Royals make other additions to try and just get into October, even if any newcomers after September 1 wouldn’t be part of any playoff rosters.

Cardinals To Activate Steven Matz From 60-Day IL Tomorrow

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The Cardinals are poised to activate left-hander Steven Matz from the 60-day Injured List tomorrow, manager Oli Marmol told reporters (including Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat) earlier today. A corresponding 40-man roster move won’t be necessary after the club’s recent losses of outfielder Tommy Pham and right-hander Shawn Armstrong on the waiver wire opened up 40-man space, and tomorrow’s roster expansion means a corresponding active roster move also won’t be necessary.

Matz’s return to action after a four-month layoff due to back issues that were aggravated further by a setback during his first comeback attempt back in June. He’s now made six outings at the Triple-A level this month without any further setbacks, however, and has pitched to decent results with a 4.29 ERA and 18.9% strikeout rate in that time. Now, Matz appears ready to step back into the Cardinals’ pitching staff, though it’s not entirely clear yet whether he’ll do so as a starter or a reliever.

The 33-year-old southpaw has experience in both roles but has mostly been a starter throughout his career, including in his six starts early in the year before being sidelined by injury. He’s maxed out at 85 pitches in the minors to this point, suggesting he’s stretched out enough to take a role in the rotation, but the club’s rotation is already full at this point with Sonny Gray, Erick Fedde, Andre Pallante, Miles Mikolas, and Kyle Gibson all currently pitching as starters. Pallante has pitched in relief before and is the least experienced of the group, but he’s arguably been the club’s best starter since the All-Star break with a 3.29 ERA and 3.34 FIP in his past seven starts.

If the club wants to use both Matz and Pallante in the rotation, other possibilities include moving to a six man rotation or moving Mikolas, who has struggled to a 6.12 ERA over his last eight starts, into a bullpen role. Of course, the impending return of veteran righty Lance Lynn from the injured list figures to further complicate St. Louis’s rotation picture, giving them plenty of options to sort through in the coming days.

Matz won’t be the only player joining the Cardinals’ roster tomorrow, as they’ll need to add another position player to their mix when rosters expand as well. That player could be center fielder Michael Siani, who Jones describes as a “strong candidate” to be activated tomorrow. The 25-year-old has been shelved due to an oblique strain for almost the entire month of July but is currently in the midst of a rehab assignment and appears to be on the verge of returning. The game where Siani was injured brought to a close a 12-game hitting streak during which he raked to the tune of a .432/.488/.460 slash line while playing his typical elite defense in center and going 4-for-4 on the basepaths.

That sort of electric play has been sorely missed by the Cardinals in recent weeks, as they’ve put together a lackluster 11-14 record in his absence while relying on Victor Scott II to cover center field. Scott has been decent enough at the plate since returning to the majors for the first time since his disappointing cup of coffee to open the season, but his .243/.274/.400 (86 wRC+) slash line in August hasn’t compared to the fantastic stretch Siani was in the midst of prior to his injury.

Cardinals Notes: Walker, Pham

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Jordan Walker “will play every day” down the stretch for the Cardinals, manager Oliver Marmol told The Athletic’s Katie Woo and other reporters yesterday after St. Louis recalled the top prospect from Triple-A Memphis.  After debuting with a solid rookie season in 2023, Walker has hit only .151/.229/.233 over 83 plate appearances at the MLB level this season, and the Cardinals have kept him at Triple-A for much of the season.  While his production in Memphis this year was only decent, the Cards have seen enough to bring Walker back for an extended stretch of playing time that will ideally set the table for Walker to stick as a lineup regular in 2025 and beyond.

Some space in the Cardinals’ outfield was cleared for Walker when Tommy Pham was designated for assignment, a day after the team first put Pham on irrevocable waivers.  Woo writes that Pham welcomed the news and had even discussed such a move with the Cards, as he’ll now have a chance at more regular playing time on another team.  If he joins another club before Sunday, Pham will also be eligible for that new club’s postseason roster.

Cubs Claim Shawn Armstrong

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The Cubs have claimed reliever Shawn Armstrong from the Cardinals, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN (X link). St. Louis had designated the righty for assignment on Tuesday.

Armstrong’s DFA ended a brief run in St. Louis. The Cards acquired him from the Rays at the trade deadline in a swap sending former top prospect Dylan Carlson to Tampa Bay. Armstrong pitched well in St. Louis, running a 12:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio while allowing only four runs in 12 2/3 innings. That was quite a bit better than the 5.40 earned run average he’d posted across 46 2/3 frames with Tampa Bay earlier in the year.

While Armstrong held up his end of the bargain, the Cardinals have had a tough month. They’ve dropped six games back of the last Wild Card spot. The front office has conceded the unlikelihood of a playoff run by waiving Armstrong and Tommy Pham, the two impending free agents they’d acquired at the deadline. Doing so allows them to offload what remains of Armstrong’s $2.05MM arbitration salary; they’d save the prorated portion of Pham’s $3MM deal if another team were to claim him.

The Cardinals lose Armstrong to their rivals, who are only one game closer to a postseason spot. Chicago enters play on Friday five games back of the Braves in the Wild Card mix. As with St. Louis, they’re long shots to get to the playoffs. The Cubs are riding a three-game win streak and kicking off a stretch of winnable games against the Nationals and Pirates. The front office isn’t completely throwing in the towel, adding to a bullpen that has pitched well over the past six weeks.

At 68-66, the Cubs had a higher waiver priority than any team that currently occupies a playoff spot (plus the Mariners, Red Sox and Mets). They’ll assume roughly $330K in salary commitments, plus another $66K in estimated luxury tax payments, to plug Armstrong into the bullpen for the season’s final month. Assuming the claim is officially processed tomorrow, he’d be eligible for Chicago’s playoff roster if they made a furious push to snag a spot.

Cardinals Designate Tommy Pham For Assignment

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The Cardinals announced that they have recalled outfielder Jordan Walker from Triple-A Memphis, with fellow outfielder Tommy Pham designated for assignment in a corresponding move. It was reported yesterday that Pham had been placed on waivers, though without being removed from the roster. It seems the Cards are committed to moving on regardless of whether Pham is claimed off waivers or not.

Teams can place a player on waivers even while they are still on the roster and participating in games. We have seen this happen this year with players like Kevin Kiermaier back when he was with the Blue Jays, as well as guys like Michael A. Taylor of the Pirates, Drew Smyly of the Cubs, Robbie Grossman of the Rangers and others.

The Cards could have waited to see if Pham was claimed and then continued to play him if he passed through, but that won’t be the case now. Pham could still be claimed off waivers by tomorrow and would be postseason-eligible with his new club. But if he goes unclaimed, he will almost certainly end up a free agent. He has more than enough time to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency, so the Cards would probably just release him in that scenario.

Little by little, the Cards are signaling that they are moving on from 2024 and turning their attentions towards the future. Prior to last month’s trade deadline, they acted as buyers, grabbing Pham, Erick Fedde and Shawn Armstrong to bolster the roster for the stretch run. But they have gone 11-15 here in August, dropping them back in the crowded National League Wild Card race. They are currently six games out and would have to pass three different clubs to get in, while also holding off the Giants, who are just half a game behind the Cards. The Playoff Odds at FanGraphs give them just a 1.8% chance of getting in while the PECOTA Standings at Baseball Prospectus have them at 1.9%.

Armstrong was designated for assignment earlier this week and is still in DFA limbo, with Pham now joining him there, so the Cards have quickly cut ties with two of their three deadline acquisitions. Fedde is still under contract for next year but Armstrong and Pham were rentals, so the club has little use for them as they have seemingly accepted that their chances in 2024 are low.

They will instead give Walker another crack at major league pitching. He has been up and down since the start of the 2023 season, showing occasional glimpses of his talents but also enduring periods of significant struggles. He hit .276/.342/.445 last year for a 115 wRC+ but his line is just .145/.228/.232 this season, wRC+ of 31. He’s spent most of his time at Triple-A this year, where the numbers have been better but not overwhelming. He has a .263/.326/.427 batting line for Memphis in 2024, which translates to a wRC+ of 94 in the strong offensive environment in the International League this year.

Though he hasn’t exactly been kicking the door down, the Cards have some motivation to get him regular run in the big leagues. Since they have been sending him back and forth between Memphis and St. Louis both last year and this year, he’s only going to have one option year remaining at the end of this season. He’s still just 22 years old and has lots of time to break out as a bonafide major leaguer, but his option status provides a little bit of a narrowing window.

During the offseason, the club could perhaps pursue offensive upgrades to try to compete in 2025. That could potentially make for a roster crunch that leads to Walker getting optioned again next year. For now, with the club outside contention, they have creating some breathing room for Walker to presumably get some significant playing time as the season winds down. Ideally, he can take some notable steps forward and solidify himself as part of the future, though he’ll be in an outfield mix that also includes Lars Nootbaar, Alec Burleson, Victor Scott II, Michael Siani, Brendan Donovan and others.

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