By Chris Brown / STL Baseball Today | @cbrown_STLBBT | May 13, 2016, 6:58 pm CT
Plagued by a drop in both velocity and strikeout rate to begin the 2016 season, Seth Maness will now look to right the ship in the minor leagues, as the Cardinals announced prior to Friday night’s game in Los Angeles that the right-handed reliever had been optioned to AAA Memphis.
Maness, who has spent most of the last three years in the majors, will get the chance to throw a large number of innings at the AAA level as he works to get back on track. The 27-year-old ground-ball specialist pitched to a disappointing 6.39 ERA in 12 2/3 innings this season while striking out just six batters and walking four.
Over the last two full seasons, Maness posted a combined 3.51 ERA across nearly 150 innings while averaging 6.3 strikeouts per nine innings.
In a corresponding roster move, the Cardinals recalled left-hander Dean Kiekhefer to the majors. The 26-year-old reliever, who made a strong bid for a spot in the big-league bullpen this spring, has allowed just two runs across 13 1/3 innings of work (1.35 ERA) while posting a 9/0 strikeout/walk ratio at Memphis this year.
Kiekhefer will be making his Major League debut when he gets into a game.
