By Chris Brown – STL Baseball Today

The Cardinals announced on Wednesday in Chicago that the team has recalled veteran first baseman Dan Johnson from AAA Memphis and optioned right-hander Marcus Hatley and lefty Tyler Lyons to the AAA team.

After being released in mid-April by the Cincinnati Reds, Johnson signed a minor-league deal with the Cardinals on May 4 and was assigned to the organization’s AAA club. A veteran of nine big-league seasons, the 35-year-old Johnson was batting .265 with 11 home runs – including four in his last ten games – and 42 RBI in 61 games down at Memphis.

A .281 hitter with 250 home runs and 924 RBI in the minors, Johnson has hit just .236 over 431 major-league at-bats, although he does have 57 home runs in his time with the A’s, Rays, White Sox, Orioles, and Blue Jays.

The Cardinals announced that they’ve designated minor-league shortstop Aledmys Diaz for assignment in order to make room for Johnson on the 40-man roster.

Johnson will wear uniform number 30.

Hatley was unscored upon in just two appearances for the Cardinals during his brief major-league stint. The 27-year-old returns to a 1.69 ERA over 37 1/3 innings at Memphis.

The 26th man in Tuesday’s doubleheader, Lyons, also 27, had to be sent back down by rule. He allowed three runs over 5 2/3 innings in the team’s 7-4 game one loss. He returns to a 5-4 record with a 3.10 ERA and 67 strikeouts over 58 innings at AAA.

The team could also have sent down lefty Tim Cooney, the other starter from Tuesday’s doubleheader, but their apparent decision to keep him on the 25-man roster seems to indicate he will likely stay in Jaime Garcia’s vacated spot in the rotation and start on Sunday in Pittsburgh.

 

Feature image used under Creative Commons from user Gimpy56. No changes made. Image licence.