photo: Hancel Rincón (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The most experienced pitcher among the seven active starting candidates at Double-A Springfield, right-hander Hancel Rincón, has been promoted to Triple-A Memphis.
Rincón, 23, debuted with Springfield last July 10, but due to injury late in 2025, the Dominican Republic native has made just 10 career Double-A appearances totaling about 50 innings pitched.
The cumulative Texas League ERA of The Cardinal Nation’s 23rd-ranked prospect is 3.62. Rincón’s Double-A strikeout rate is 11.1 per nine innings against a walk rate of 2.4.
The Triple-A Redbirds are down one pitcher because Jared Shuster was promoted to St. Louis on Sunday to work in long relief. His scheduled start for Memphis in Game 2 of Sunday’s doubleheader became a bullpen game started by Max Rajcic.
Because reliever Nick Raquet was designated for assignment as part of the Shuster-related transactions, one spot was open on the Redbirds’ 28-man active roster. As a result, no other move is needed to accommodate the addition of Rincón. However, that could change if Raquet clears waivers this week and remains in the organization.
Springfield starters this week are Brandt Thompson on Tuesday, Liam Doyle on Wednesday and Jurrangelo Cijntje on Thursday.
Tuesday update
To replace Rincon on the Springfield 28-man roster, the organization activated pitcher Randel Clemente. The right-hander opened the season on the Double-A Development List.
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