The St. Louis Cardinals placed pitcher Jack Flaherty on the 15-day injured list because of a right shoulder strain and center fielder Harrison Bader on the 10-day injured list because of plantar fasciitis in his right foot, the team announced on Monday.
Flaherty, 26, has made only three starts this season because of shoulder inflammation, posting a 5.63 ERA. He left his latest outing on Sunday against the Chicago Cubs after just two innings. He has worked through injuries for the better part of two years, making a total of just 18 starts.
“Hopefully, it’s something that we still see him this year,” John Mozeliak, the Cardinals president of baseball operations, said of Flaherty. “I mean, we’re pretty optimistic that that will be the case based on what we’re hearing. But, you know, clearly it’s going to take some more time to get him back.”
Bader said his foot has been bothering him more lately, including consecutive days where he experienced some sharp pain.
“There’s just a lot of days left and I just wanted to be smart about, you know, being the best version of myself and this team for the entirety of the season, so I think a small stint at the moment is best for all of us involved,” he said.
Bader, 28, is hitting .256 with five home runs, 21 RBIs and a .673 OPS this season.
The Cardinals called up two rookies to take the place of Flaherty and Bader. Right-hander James Naile and outfielder Conner Capel made their major league debuts in Monday night’s 9-0 win over the Miami Marlins; Naile pitched a scoreless eighth and Capel played left field as a defensive replacement in the ninth. They are the Cardinals’ 10th and 11th players to debut this season, second only to the Pittsburgh Pirates (12).
Despite a spate of injuries this season, St. Louis is just half a game out of first place in the National League Central while holding one of the three wild-card positions.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Source: www.espn.com