After Jaime Garcia missed one start for the St. Louis Cardinals due to elbow discomfort, the left-hander took the mound in Houston Tuesday night. The 25-year-old was ineffective, removed after allowing six runs in just two innings.
You can read Garcia’s comments and his manager’s here.
Though it is premature to assume Garcia will miss more time or be placed on the disabled list, one has to consider the possibility; hence this post.
If you were Mike Matheny, to whom would you give the ball if Garcia couldn’t go? In other words, who would be your “sixth starter?”
Maikel Cleto had been a starting pitcher prior to 2012 and seems to have evolved into being the long man in the current version of Matheny’s pen. Brandon Dickson has been up several times in recent years, but rarely used. Neither Joe Kelly nor top prospect Shelby Miller are on the 40-man roster, with Kelly pitching better this season for Memphis than Miller. Instead, the Cardinals could look out into the free agent market or engineer a trade. (Click on highlighted players’ names to get a look at their stats.)
How would you address a need it if arises?
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Please explain your thought process below.
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