photo: Lane Thomas via Zoom (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
St. Louis Cardinals press release
The St. Louis Cardinals announced prior to today’s (Thursday, May 6) series finale against the New York Mets that they have recalled outfielder Lane Thomas from Memphis (AAA). The team also announced that right-handed pitcher Johan Oviedo was optioned to Memphis, and left-handed pitcher Bernardo Flores, Jr., the 27th player for yesterday’s double-header, was returned to Memphis.
The right-handed hitting Thomas appeared in four games for the Cardinals in April, going 2-for-9. He had two hits, including a double and triple, while playing in the first two games of the season for Memphis this week.
Brian Walton’s take
The Cardinals’ use of the sixth starter (Oviedo) has been directly tied to long stretches of play without days off. With an upcoming open day on Monday, May 10, the need to keep the sixth man on the active roster was lessened. Further, with Miles Mikolas’ return from the injured list expected later this month, it would seemingly push Oviedo down in the rotation pecking order.
Manager Mike Shildt praised Thomas’ success as a pinch-hitter in 2019, noting that he was on track to make the post-season roster until he suffered a season-ended hand injury on a hit-by-pitch. Thomas will also “get spot starts here and there” behind starting outfielders Tyler O’Neill, Harrison Bader and Dylan Carlson.
The other outfield reserve is Justin Williams. Additional bench options are infielders Matt Carpenter and Edmundo Sosa and catcher Ali Sanchez.
Without Thomas, the Triple-A Redbirds already have five active outfielders, so a direct roster replacement for him there is not expected.
Insurance policy Flores was deployed in Wednesday’s twin bill but struggled, allowing a hit and two walks without retiring a batter and yielding a run in the seventh inning of Game 2. Because of this use, he may not return to his previously announced Friday starting spot for Memphis.
With this move, the Cardinals return to 13 pitchers and 13 position players on the 26-man active roster.
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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