St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Matt Carpenter suffered a right oblique injury during Wednesday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the team announced. He was placed on the disabled list on Thursday, and it is unclear when he’ll return to the field.
Continue for updates.
Carpenter Placed on 15-Day DL
Thursday, July 7
The Cardinals announced catcher Michael McKenry would take Carpenter’s place on the active roster.
Matheny Comments on Carpenter Injury
Wednesday, July 6
“I have a high level of concern,” said Cardinals manager Mike Matheny regarding the injury, per Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, who added Carpenter will have an MRI to determine the severity.
Carpenter Has Been Extremely Durable with Cardinals
This is a concerning setback for Carpenter, because durability has been one of his calling cards during his career. He had played in at least 154 games in each of the last three years coming into the 2016 campaign.
The 2013 and 2014 All-Star is one of the best hitters in the Cardinals lineup. He won the 2013 Silver Slugger Award with a .318 average and a National League-leading 199 hits but became more of a power force during the 2015 season.
Carpenter had not hit more than 11 long balls in a season before last year, but he erupted for 28 homers and 84 RBI as one of the anchors of the Cardinals lineup in 2015. He helped his team win the National League Central over the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs, who had to settle for wild-card spots.
Thus far, Carpenter has a strong case to make as the National League MVP front-runner in 2016. After Wednesday’s game, he is leading the NL with a .420 on-base percentage and ranks sixth with a .568 slugging percentage in addition to a .298 average with 14 home runs and 53 RBI.
St. Louis will likely turn to Kolten Wong if Carpenter misses significant time. Wong has struggled mightily this season, including a nearly two-week demotion to Triple-A.
Elsewhere, Jedd Gyorko is a versatile option who can play all over the infield and fill the void while Carpenter recovers. Gyorko did start at first base on Wednesday with Brandon Moss on the disabled list, so Matheny’s bench is being tested.
While St. Louis has a couple of options to replace Carpenter, it has a more dangerous lineup with the power-hitting second baseman taking the field every day.
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