The Cardinals are poised to activate left-hander Steven Matz from the 60-day Injured List on Sunday, manager Oli Marmol told reporters (including Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat) earlier on Saturday. A corresponding 40-man roster move won’t be necessary after the club’s recent losses of outfielder Tommy Pham and right-hander Shawn Armstrong on the waiver wire opened up 40-man space, and Sunday’s roster expansion means a corresponding active roster move also won’t be necessary.
Matz’s return to action comes after a four-month layoff due to back issues that were aggravated further by a setback during his first comeback attempt in June. He’s now made six outings at the Triple-A level this month without any further setbacks, however, and has pitched to decent results with a 4.29 ERA and 18.9 percent strikeout rate in that time. Now, Matz appears ready to step back into the Cardinals’ pitching staff, though it’s not entirely clear yet whether he’ll do so as a starter or a reliever.
The 33-year-old southpaw has experience in both roles, but has mostly been a starter throughout his career, including in his six starts early in the year before being sidelined by injury. He’s maxed out at 85 pitches in the minors to this point, suggesting he’s stretched out enough to take a role in the rotation, but the club’s rotation is already full at this point with Sonny Gray, Erick Fedde, Andre Pallante, Miles Mikolas, and Kyle Gibson all currently pitching as starters. Pallante has pitched in relief before and is the least experienced of the group, but he’s arguably been the club’s best starter since the All-Star break with a 3.29 ERA and 3.34 FIP in his past seven starts.
If the club wants to use both Matz and Pallante in the rotation, other possibilities include moving to a six-man rotation or moving Mikolas, who has struggled to a 6.12 ERA over his last eight starts, into a bullpen role. Of course, the impending return of veteran righty Lance Lynn from the injured list figures to further complicate St. Louis’s rotation picture, giving them plenty of options to sort through in the coming days.
Matz won’t be the only player joining the Cardinals’ roster on Sunday as they’ll need to add another position player to their mix when rosters expand as well. That player could be center fielder Michael Siani, who Jones describes as a “strong candidate” to be activated. The 25-year-old has been shelved due to an oblique strain for almost the entire month of July, but is currently in the midst of a rehab assignment and appears to be on the verge of returning. The game in which Siani was injured brought to a close a 12-game hitting streak during which he raked to the tune of a .432/.488/.460 slash line while playing his typical elite defense in center and going 4-for-4 on the basepaths.
That sort of electric play has been sorely missed by the Cardinals in recent weeks, as they’ve put together a lackluster 11-14 record in his absence while relying on Victor Scott II to cover center field. Scott has decent enough at the plate since returning to the majors for the first time since his disappointing cup of coffee to open the season, but his .243/.274/.400 (86 wRC+) slash line in August hasn’t compared to the fantastic stretch Siani was in the midst of prior to his injury.
