photo: Jordan Walker (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Two members of the slumping St. Louis Cardinals (10-14, five games out of first) were sent down to Triple-A Memphis on Wednesday, April 24.
We have recalled INF José Fermín and LHP John King from Memphis (AAA).
LHP Zack Thompson and OF Jordan Walker have been optioned to Memphis.
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) April 24, 2024
Right fielder Jordan Walker and left-handed pitcher Zack Thompson began 2024 with poor results, leading to their demotion. Replacing them on St. Louis’ active roster are infielder Jose Fermin and left-handed reliever John King.
Walker, 21, a former top prospect in baseball and one-time no. 1 Cardinals prospect, is slashing .155/.239/.259/.497 including only nine hits, four for extra bases, but no home runs to begin his second MLB season.
While Walker’s defense was improved in 2024, with a current Defensive Runs Saved of 1, compared to -16 in 2023, his hitting has declined substantially, from an OPS+ of 114 last year to 41 currently.
The Cardinals have asked Walker to reset, adjust his swing, regain his confidence, and earn his return to St. Louis. One can only hope some combination of less pressure, different coaching and pitching of lower quality in the International League will enable Walker to cure his ills. Interestingly, Walker was also sent down to Memphis in late April 2023, a stay that lasted about a month.
Alec Burleson seems a prime candidate to see more regular time in the starting outfield for St. Louis. Brendan Donovan is another possibility.
With this move, the Cardinals are again down to just one active outfielder from their top four coming into spring camp. Tommy Edman and Dylan Carlson remain on the injured list. Lars Nootbaar recently returned from his own injury, but has yet to hit his stride offensively.
Thompson, 26, entered spring camp in competition for a rotation spot after a good finish to 2023. However, with five veterans ahead of him, Thompson only made the starting five due to Sonny Gray missing his first two starts due to a hamstring injury.
Thompson’s two fill-in starts went poorly, with a 6.97 ERA, as he was charged with eight runs including four home runs in 10 innings. His third relief outing of 2024 was on Tuesday, during which he allowed two inherited runners to score along with seven runs of his own, including two more long balls, in 2 2/3 innings. That raised his relief ERA to 13.50.
Lacking a clear sixth starter at this time, the Cardinals want Thompson to work out of the Memphis rotation, following the same comments they made about Andre Pallante the other day. This leads to a Triple-A numbers challenge to watch.
The Memphis rotation has gotten really crowded. There are five incumbents – Graceffo, McGreevy, Robberse, Kloffenstein and Santos. Now, Pallante and Thompson have joined from the #STLCards. Whenever Rom is ready, that will make eight.
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) April 24, 2024
Fermin, 25, was acquired by the Cardinals from Cleveland for cash considerations in November 2022. After spending the first half of 2023 with Memphis, Fermin joined St. Louis in early July for the first of three big-league stints. He is versatile defensively, but was not impressive with the bat, logging a .594 OPS in 61 plate appearances over 21 games.
After a strong 2024 spring camp with St. Louis, Fermin continued to hit with Memphis, earning this promotion. In 72 plate appearances over 18 Triple-A games, the right-handed hitter is slashing .350/.458/.650/1.108.
Coming into Tuesday, Fermin was third in the IL batting race. The infielder was also third in OBP and slugging and second in OPS. Fermin leads the Redbirds with seven multi-hit games this season.
As Fermin is primarily a middle infielder and third baseman, positions well covered by others on the roster, it is unclear where and how often he will play with St. Louis.
King, 29, is an early leader on the I-55 shuttle between Memphis and St. Louis. After missing the end of camp due to illness, the lefty did not make the big-league team initially. King was called up on March 31 and sent back down on April 9 when Gray was activated.
With Memphis, in 5 1/3 innings over six games, King allowed two runs (3.38 ERA) on six hits, no walks and five strikeouts. He has a 1-0 record and two saves in two opportunities.
Earlier this season, in two outings totaling 2 1/3 innings with St. Louis, King allowed one run on three hits, including a home run, walked none and struck out four.
Results aside, the choice of King for this recall seems most straightforward, as he was the last reliever with Memphis who has a spot on St. Louis’ 40-man roster.
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