Cardinals shortstop Ruben Tejada left Thursday’s game with a muscle strain in his left quadriceps and will begin the season on the disabled list, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link). As a result, both infielder Greg Garcia and outfielder Jeremy Hazelbaker have made the Cardinals’ Opening Day roster, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com tweets. Tejada’s injury is the latest unfortunate news at shortstop for the Cardinals, who signed the ex-Met earlier this month to replace the injured Jhonny Peralta. With Tejada on the shelf, the Cardinals are expected to start Jedd Gyorko at short in their Sunday opener against Pittsburgh, Goold writes. Garcia, meanwhile, has dealt with his own injury – a sore knee – and put up a meager .289 slugging percentage in 52 plate appearances this spring. Hazelbaker has been far more successful at the plate, amassing a .300/.364/.500 line in 44 PAs. The 28-year-old, a longtime minor leaguer, will finally have a chance to see his first major league action since Boston took him in the fourth round of the 2009 draft.
Here’s more from the National League:
- Righty Matthew Bowman will join Garcia and Hazelbaker on the Cardinals’ Opening Day roster, per Adam Rubin of ESPN.com. The injury to Jordan Walden helped clear a path in the bullpen for Bowman, whom the Cardinals took from the Mets in the Rule 5 draft last December. Bowman has allowed seven earned runs in eight innings this spring while striking out five and walking three.
- Dodgers third baseman/outfielder Alex Guerrero will start the season on the DL after an MRI showed “minimal damage” in his knee, manager Dave Roberts announced (Twitter link via Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times). The fact that Guerrero is DL-bound gives the Dodgers time to delay a roster decision on a player whose contract precludes them from sending him to the minors without his permission. The Dodgers reportedly tried to trade Guerrero over the winter, but they didn’t find any takers. If dealt sometime this season, Guerrero will have a chance to void the final year of his contract and become a free agent next offseason. The 29-year-old is slated to earn $5MM this season after compiling a dismal -0.2 fWAR in 106 games in 2015. In 21 plate appearances this spring, Guerrero slashed .238/.238/.571.
- The Pirates’ decision to give Juan Nicasio their last rotation spot over Ryan Vogelsong was an agonizing one for team brass, general manager Neal Huntington said. “It was the most intense conversation we’ve had,” Huntington stated (via Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh-Tribune Review). “There were strong convictions on both sides.” In the end, Nicasio’s dominant Spring Training showing – 15 innings, no runs, 24 strikeouts, five walks – was simply too much for the Pirates to ignore.
- An MRI revealed Thursday that Brewers southpaw Sean Nolin has a left elbow strain, general manager David Stearns said. Nolin will get a second opinion before a prognosis is announced, tweets Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. If Nolin’s diagnosis proves correct, McCalvy expects the 26-year-old to avoid Tommy John surgery. Nolin was a candidate to serve in the Brewers’ bullpen before they had to shut him down earlier this month with the injury. He’ll begin the season on the DL.
Nicasio’s spring numbers:
0.00 ERA; 15 IP; 24 SO; 5 BB; 1 HBP; 10 hits (only one, a triple, for extra bases)
Vogelsong’s spring numbers:
6.14 ERA; 14.2 IP; 4 SO; 6 BB; 0 HBP; 19 hits (8 for extra bases, including 2 HR)
Why was there even any debate at all, let alone one as divisive and heated as the article makes it sound, about who should be the 5th starter?
Seriously? Maybe because spring training stats are extremely fluky and almost entirely meaningless? Not to mention a very small sample size. No one takes spring stats that seriously…. Look at Trevor Bauer. Great spring stats compared to tomlin and Anderson yet still demoted to the pen. Why? Cause spring stats don’t matter
And lets add the fact that Vogelsong hasnt had an ERA below 4 since 2012. That’s bad since you consider that he has been in one of the more pitcher friendly parks in the majors during that span.
Granted Nicasio is nothing special, but he gets some kind of mulligan from pitching in Coors the majority of his career.
I thought Bauer got demoted because they want to limit his arbitration earnings.
They do take spring stats seriously when there is a direct competition for a spot, which there was in this case. If spring stats don’t matter at all, how else are you going to determine who wins a battle for a spot? Small samples may be sometimes fluky, but they have caused guys to be out of the league for many years now and will continue to do so in the future. Of course they have also helped lengthen big league careers as well. I cite both Brennan Boesch and Kevin Gregg with the Reds last year. They both absolutely tore in up ST and made the team. And both proved to be fluky, but they still got big league pay for a while longer than if they had a bad spring.
Because it is only spring training
That argument only works for so long. At some point you have to start thinking that Vogelsong’s 2.7 K/9 this spring isn’t just some fluke and that this is his actual level of talent at this point. Just because it’s spring doesn’t mean he’s a better pitcher than what he’s shown so far.
That’s probably part of why he ultimately lost the competition. Still, it’s important to consider a guy’s Major League track record (and ERAs in the 4’s are still somewhat decent) alongside Spring Training performances when dealing with these kinds of competitions. That’s why it was such a tough decision.
Also, welcome to MLBTR Connor! Best of luck!
Thank you!
I like Nolin– He could eventually be solid for Milwaukee
Excellent debut Connor! Six Notes of shut-out level writing!
Thanks, chiguy! Very much appreciated.
Poor Red Birds! They seriously can’t catch a break!
They’re still healthier than last year., though.
Nice write up Connor, looking forward to future post. Maybe supplant that Jeff Todd guy on chats, haha.
Hahaha, thanks, Gogerty!
Going with Nicasio really is the best move for the Bucs. I think Vogelsong might be more likely to contribute more as a long reliever and spot starter at this point in his career. Worst case scenario, Nicasio flops or can’t stay healthy, and either Vogelsong or Kyle Lobstein fill in at least until Tyler Glasnow, Jamieson Taillon and perhaps other prospects are ready this summer. Even if Nicasio falters, he has the ability and the youth to bounce back.
You mean until they comfortably clear the Super Two threshold.
Correct, thank you for clarifying that.
What am I missing about Matthew Bowman? Poor minor league numbers and poor spring results and they’re giving him a spot?
He is recovering from a major surgery and has a huge upside?
Excited and happy for Jeremy Hazelbaker that he made my favorite team the Cardinals. I have seen him in AAA and this guys is talented and just forced his way on the team. Good look man.
Man the Cardinals just can’t catch a break lol. Well, Im glad Hazelbaker made the roster, he’s earned it. Bowman, Im surprised they went with him, he doesn’t have very promising numbers, but maybe that’ll change. Remains to be seen, go Cards!
Perhaps the debate raged about Nicasio due to what’s on his toolbelt. If you look at his pitch usage over his career he almost flat out ignores a change up and lives off of fastball/slider.
The Pirates say that he has been working on a sinker this spring, which is almost necessary for the Pirates’ defensive philosophy…but we will see if that plays
Agree 100%. I like Nicasio, and I’m glad that he got a shot at the job, but I probably would’ve left him in the bullpen. His stuff definitely seemed to play there from what games I saw him pitch last year, and his numbers backed it up (although leaving Colorado probably helped out too). If he finds an offspeed pitch, he can work out, but I could see him having some trouble against LHH in the rotation. If, as you said, he has developed his third pitch though (and Pittsburgh seems as good as place to figure it out), then this is the right call.
Let’s see what kind of “team first” player Vogelsong is now.
He showed nothing in ST except that he would make a good batting practice pitcher.
Worse case scenario, let him pitch a couple of innings of mop up duty, and if he hasn’t figured how to get major league hitters out, show him the door, and bring up that guy they got from the Marlins , over the winter.
The Pirates got something with him, IMO.