photo: Miles Mikolas (Brett Davis/USA TODAY Sports)
On Friday, the St. Louis Cardinals activated starting pitcher Miles Mikolas, but placed reliever Ryan Helsley on the injured list. Also, a Memphis COVID case seems to have suffered a setback.
St. Louis Cardinals press release
The St. Louis Cardinals announced this afternoon (Friday, August 20) that they have activated right-handed pitcher Miles Mikolas from the 60-day Injured List, and he will draw the start tonight in the team’s series opener against Pittsburgh.
The Cardinals also announced that right-handed reliever Ryan Helsley (right elbow stress reaction) has been placed on the 10-day injured List, retroactive to August 17. In addition, Memphis (AAA) left-handed pitcher Brandon Waddell has been placed on the COVID-19 Injured List.
Mikolas, who completed a five-game injury rehabilitation assignment with a start last Saturday (Aug. 14), is making just his second start of the 2021 campaign for the Cardinals tonight. His lone start for the Cardinals this season came on May 22 when he departed after 4.0 innings with a right forearm injury that caused him to miss the past 75 games.
Helsley, who worked 1.1 innings in relief last Saturday in Kansas City, has posted a 6-4 mark with a 4.56 ERA in 51 games while stranding a team-best 27 of 31 inherited runners.
Waddell appeared in four games for the Cardinals after coming over from Baltimore in June. He has logged five games for Memphis, last appearing on June 26.
Brian Walton’s take
Mikolas’ results were not particularly encouraging in his last two of five minor league outings while he was building up his pitch count. On August 8, the right-hander yielded seven runs (including three home runs) in 5 2/3 innings in Double-A. Moved down a level to Peoria, Mikolas was charged with three earned runs in seven innings on August 14. While that would be a quality start in the majors, the competition was three levels lower.
The current St. Louis rotation appears to be Jack Flaherty, Adam Wainwright, J.A. Happ, Jon Lester and Mikolas, with the latter stepping in for the most recent to hit the IL of four starters there currently, veteran Wade LeBlanc.
Kwang-Hyun Kim is pitching in rehab games, but it is unclear when he will return and in what role. Even if Dakota Hudson can make it back against the odds before season’s end, it will almost certainly be as a reliever. Carlos Martinez is likely done for 2021 and LeBlanc’s potential return is unknown.
Waddell’s situation is interesting in that the left-handed pitcher was placed on the COVID-19 IL upon being optioned to Memphis on July 15. The 40-man roster member was activated at Triple-A on August 14 but did not pitch for the Redbirds in game action before being put back on the COVID-19 today. That cleared the needed 40-man spot for Mikolas.
For more
To track the status of the Cardinals’ 40-man roster as well as all players in the system by position and level, check out the Roster Matrix, always free and updated here at The Cardinal Nation. Also included is every player transaction across the full organization all year long.
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