Cardinals shuffle the deck for their roster ahead of road trip
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - After four straight losses to close out the home stand on Wednesday, the St. Louis Cardinals found it necessary to shuffle the roster deck leading into a lengthy divisional series at Milwaukee.
The most intriguing arm from the Triple-A Memphis bullpen has been selected by the Cardinals, with Andre Granillo getting the call to the big leagues Thursday. The 25-year-old’s numbers jump off the page as Granillo has posted a 1.82 ERA with 46 strikeouts and only eight walks in 29.2 innings pitched this season.
After pitching on consecutive days to wrap the Toronto series, Chris Roycroft was optioned back to Memphis to clear space for Granillo on the active roster.
To make room for Granillo on the 40-man roster, the Cardinals have designated outfielder Ryan Vilade for assignment after a brief and ineffective run with the big-league club over the past couple of weeks.
As a right-handed hitting outfielder for the bench, Vilade fit the archetype for something the Cardinals are sorely lacking on their Major League roster, which explains why they forced him into several lineups to get an idea of his viability during the absence of Jordan Walker due to a wrist injury. But his 1-for-13 stint (.077) with five strikeouts indicated limited upside for Vilade as a long-term bench solution.
With Walker beginning a minor-league rehab assignment Thursday, Vilade didn’t seem long for his role, anyway, so the Cardinals decided to shore up the bench defense for the start of the Milwaukee series as Michael Siani res the team to take Vilade’s spot on the active roster.
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