File: Randal Grichuk at the plate during 2015 Spring Training
By Cardinals Press Release & Chris Brown – STL Baseball Today
Update:
By Chris Brown– Cardinals GM John Mozeliak told KMOX that he anticipates Randal Grichuk missing 15-20 games with a right elbow injury.
An MRI taken Monday revealed a both a muscle strain and a low-grade ligament strain in Grichuk’s elbow.
“The overall ligament probably looks like a lot of pitcher and position player elbows, so we’re not overly concerned with that,” Mozeliak told MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch. “But short-term, you’ve got to let the muscle heal. Otherwise, I do think you expose the ligament to possible greater risk.”
Grichuk told reporters he first felt tightness in his arm while throwing on Saturday, and the discomfort continued to increase throughout Sunday’s game before he was removed after seven innings.
[Related: Video: Grichuk discusses elbow injury which landed him on DL]
“(It’s) very frustrating,” Grichuk said. “(I) felt like I was swinging it well, felt good at the plate. For this to come, (to) miss some time, it’s frustrating.”
Outside of Matt Carpenter, Grichuk, who had cemented himself in the NL Rookie of the Year race, has been one of the Cardinals’ most consistent sources of power this season. The 24-year-old fell into a key role early in the year due to injuries to starting outfielders Matt Holliday and Jon Jay.
Langosch provides more information on the Cardinals plan in the outfield moving forward:
Now, the Cardinals will have to get creative in filling the void created by having three everyday outfielders on the DL. Corner outfielders Jason Heyward and Stephen Piscotty are options to play center, and it was Heyward, making his first start at the position since 2013, who got the first look on Monday against the Giants. Moving one of them there would allow the Cardinals to play both Mark Reynolds and Brandon Moss, one at first base and one in the outfield.
The Cardinals now also have two additional center fielders on their roster in Peter Bourjos and Tommy Pham, who was recalled to take Grichuk’s place on the roster. Pham played in 13 games for the Cardinals in July after having the start of his season delayed by a quad injury sustained during Spring Training. Pham went 8-for-44 during that stint. Since returning to Triple-A, Pham has hit .319/.394/.396 in 24 games.
[Related: Updated: Heyward exits early with hamstring tightness, to be evaluated Tuesday]
Over the weekend, Grichuk became the fourth-fastest player in Cardinals franchise history to hit 15 home runs in his rookie season.
Press Release:
The St. Louis Cardinals have placed outfielder Randal Grichuk on the 15-day disabled list with a right elbow strain today. Outfielder Tommy Pham has been recalled from Memphis (AAA), his second stint with the Cardinals.
Grichuk, 24, has a .284 batting average with 44 RBI and 15 home runs in 85 games for St. Louis, playing primarily in centerfield the last month. He left yesterday’s game after the 7th inning with right elbow discomfort. Grichuk’s 43 extra-base hits rank first among all MLB rookies, with his 15 home runs T3rd among rookies and his 44 RBI ranked 6th. Since the All-Star break, his eight home runs are T4th among all National League hitters with a .612 slugging pct. that ranks 11th. He is the first St. Louis rookie since Johnny Mize in 1936 with 21+ doubles, 7+ triples and 15+ home runs.
Pham, 27, started 10 games and appeared in 13 during July (7/3-19) for St. Louis. He picked up his first Major League home run on July 5 vs. San Diego, and overall batted .182 (4 doubles, HR, 3RBI). At Memphis is batting .327, but over his last 23 games has a .354 average (29-82) with 11 walks, and 17 RBI, recording 10 multi-hit games during that span. This is Pham’s 10th season within the Cardinals organization after being drafted in the 16th round (496th overall) of the June 2006 draft.
