ST. LOUIS CARDINALS NEWS

Packy Naughton - Moved to 60-day IL St. Louis transferred Naughton (forearm) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day injured list on Wednesday.

Impact Naughton resumed throwing earlier this month, but he still has a lot of hurdles to clear in his recovery from a left forearm strain. He originally landed on the IL on April 8 and now isn't eligible to return until early June.

MAY 17, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Oscar Mercado - Contract selected by STL St. Louis selected Mercado's contract from Triple-A Memphis on Wednesday.

Impact Mercado will get his first close-up in a Cardinals uniform, nearly 10 years after being drafted by the organization. He possesses decent speed -- as he showed at times with Cleveland -- but the overall fantasy upside is lacking. The 28-year-old outfielder has slashed just .200/.258/.330 in his last 459 major-league plate appearances dating back to the beginning of the 2020 season.

MAY 17, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

James Naile - Optioned back to Triple-A St. Louis optioned Naile to Triple-A Memphis on Wednesday.

Impact Naile threw 35 pitches over two innings of relief in the Cardinals' blowout win over the Brewers on Tuesday and wasn't going to be available for a bit. He carries a 4.15 ERA in 4.1 major-league innings this year.

MAY 17, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Dylan Carlson - Officially placed on IL St. Louis placed Carlson on the 10-day injured list Wednesday, retroactive to May 15, with a left ankle sprain.

Impact Carlson suffered the injury in Sunday night's series finale against the Red Sox and wasn't making enough progress on the side. The hope is that he could be ready for activation when first eligible next week. Oscar Mercado is up from Triple-A Memphis to give the Cardinals a bit more outfield depth, though Lars Nootbaar should primarily patrol center field in Carlson's absence. Tyler O'Neill (back) is nearing a return as well.

MAY 17, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Matthew Liberatore - Recalled for start Wednesday St. Louis recalled Liberatore from Triple-A Memphis on Wednesday.

Impact As announced late Tuesday, Liberatore will make his first major-league start of the season Wednesday night versus the division-rival Brewers. The highly-touted 23-year-old left-hander was sporting a 3.13 ERA with 56 strikeouts through 46 innings (eight starts) this year at the Triple-A level and is worth a shot in most standard fantasy formats. If he stays on turn, his next start with the Cardinals would be on the road against the Reds.

MAY 17, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Adam Wainwright - Next start coming Thursday Wainwright is now scheduled to make his next start Thursday versus the Dodgers, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Impact Heading into the week, Wainwright was lined up to start Wednesday's series finale versus the Brewers, but the Cardinals are instead giving him an each of their other four starters an extra day of rest by calling up lefty Matthew Liberatore from Triple-A Memphis to get the ball against Milwaukee. The matchup change from the Brewers to the Dodgers amounts to a downgrade for Wainwright, but he'll still benefit from pitching at home rather than on the road.

MAY 17, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

MLB panic meter: Assessing the Yankees, Astros, Padres, Mets and more

How concerned should the Yankees, Astros, Padres, Mets and several other teams be? Jake Mintz breaks down their circumstances in his first e...

MAY 17, 2023

Luken Baker - Leads Triple-A in home runs Baker, 26, leads all Triple-A hitters with 14 home runs and has a .302/.436/.669 slash line in 39 games for Memphis.

Impact The rule for players like Baker who will provide zero or negative defensive value is that they need to hit a lot at every level on their path to the majors, and Baker failed in that respect last year at Triple-A, slashing .228/.288/.394 in 124 games. However, he's been so good this season that he can't be completely written off as a Quadruple-A hitter. His 40 percent hard-hit rate and 11.6 percent soft-hit rate are excellent marks, and his 0.80 BB/K is the best ratio of his career. Even so, Baker is stuck behind Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Gorman, Juan Yepez and Alec Burleson on the organizational depth chart at first base and designated hitter for now.

MAY 17, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Dylan Carlson - Likely headed to injured list Carlson (ankle) is likely to be placed on the injured list, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

Impact Oscar Mercado has reportedly been promoted and Wednesday is the last day the Cardinals can fully backdate an IL stint for Carlson, so it's not difficult to connect the dots here. Carlson sprained his left ankle Sunday and while he's made improvement, giving him another week off might not be the worst thing. Lars Nootbaar will handle center field while Carlson is out, with Brendan Donovan, Juan Yepez, Alec Burleson and Tommy Edman manning the corners.

MAY 17, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Oscar Mercado - Added to roster The Cardinals selected Mercado's contract from Triple-A Memphis on Wednesday, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

Impact Mercado will give the Cards another outfielder capable of handling center field while Dylan Carlson (ankle) is sidelined. The 28-year-old has batted .278/.361/.421 with two home runs and 15 stolen bases with Memphis this season and last appeared in the majors in 2022.

MAY 17, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Jordan Montgomery - Surrenders three runs in defeat Montgomery (2-6) allowed three runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out seven over 5.1 innings in a loss to the Brewers on Tuesday.

Impact The Brewers got to Montgomery in the opening frame with a pair of doubles, but he was able to strike out the side. He settled down from there until the fifth inning after a solo home run from Joey Wiemer knotted the game up at two. Montgomery would then give up a leadoff homer to Brian Anderson in the sixth and was given two more batters before being taken out. He's now given up multiple long balls in back-to-back starts and has surrendered nine runs over his last 10.1 innings. His ERA has shot up to a 4.21 to go along with a 1.34 WHIP and 47:13 K:BB over 51.1 innings. He's currently lined up for just one start this week and is expected to take the mound next week on the road against the Reds.

MAY 17, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Tommy Edman - Three more hits Tuesday Edman went 3-for-4 with a double, a run scored and two stolen bases in Tuesday's loss to the Brewers.

Impact After Tuesday's effort, Edman now has seven hits, five runs and two RBI over his last two games. Prior to May 15, he had just six hits over 11 games in May. Edman's two stolen bases were his first since April 27. He's combined for 62 steals over the last two seasons, so expectations are that his stolen bases will pick up as the year carries on. He's now slashing .275/.333/.473 with six homers, 17 RBI, 22 runs, five steals and an 11:21 BB:K over 146 plate appearances.

MAY 17, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Willson Contreras - Steals bag in loss Contreras went 1-for-3 with a double, two walks and a stolen base in Tuesday's loss to the Brewers.

Impact Contreras drew multiple walks for the first time since April 23 and notched his third extra base hit over his last five games with a double in the ninth. He wound up stealing second after walking in the fifth for his first stolen bag since April 17. He's put up pretty standard numbers at the plate thus far, slashing .252/.343/.395 with three homers, 18 RBI, 19 runs and a 20:35 BB:K over 169 plate appearances.

MAY 17, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Pitchers take center stage as Cardinals host Brewers After suffering another major pitching injury and taxing their bullpen Tuesday, the Milwaukee Brewers will seek a big response from right-ha...

MAY 17, 2023 • DEADSPIN.COM

Nolan Arenado - Goes deep in fifth straight game Arenado went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and a walk in Tuesday's loss to the Brewers.

Impact Arenado took Wade Miley deep in the second inning for his eighth home run of the season and his fifth in his last five games. He now has 13 RBI since May 10. After a rough opening month during which he got off to the worst start of his career offensively, Arenado has turned things around at the plate. The 32-year-old is slashing .315/.367/.704 with six homers, 17 RBI, 11 runs and a 5:10 BB:K over 14 games in May thus far.

MAY 17, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Cardinals and Brewers play with series tied 1-1

The St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers play on Wednesday with the winner claiming the three-game series

MAY 17, 2023 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Frustrating stretch for Montgomery continues in tough loss ST. LOUIS -- As if having to wait four days to try to snap the longest losing streak of his career wasn’t painful enough, Cardinals left-han...

MAY 17, 2023 • MLB.COM

Matthew Liberatore - Starting Wednesday against Brewers Liberatore will be recalled from Triple-A Memphis to start against the Brewers on Wednesday, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Impact This will not be an injury-related call-up, but instead a chance for the Cardinals to give their starters an extra day of rest. Liberatore struggled in 2022 in his brief time with the Cardinals as seen in a 5.97 ERA and 28:18 K:BB, but the 23-year-old has been excellent in Triple-A in 2023 with a 3.13 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 56:17 K:BB over 46 innings. This could be just one start for Liberatore in this instance, but a strong showing against Milwaukee could bode well for him making additional appearances this summer.

MAY 17, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Brewers' ace reliever Devin Williams cools Cardinals, quashes late threats to secure 3-2 win ST. LOUIS — Milwaukee found one way to slow the Cardinals was to throw some St. Louis back at them.

MAY 17, 2023 • KANSASCITY.COM

Wiemer, Anderson homer in Brewers' 3-2 victory over Cardinals

Nolan Arenado homered for the fifth straight game for the St. Louis Cardinals in a 3-2 loss to Milwaukee on Tuesday night, with Joey Wiemer and Brian Anderson homering for the Brew...

MAY 17, 2023 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Cardinals' Nolan Arenado homers in 5th consecutive game

Nolan Arenado homered for the fifth straight game, a leadoff drive in the second inning that tied the St. Louis Cardinals’ game against the Milwaukee Brewers 1-1

MAY 17, 2023 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Flaherty, Contreras together again as Cardinals teammates share an embrace, words of support “…I just went in, I was like, I’m gonna trust him, and as long as I execute, good things are going to happen,” Flaherty said. “He did an unb...

MAY 16, 2023 • BND.COM

Dylan Carlson - Sitting with ankle sprain Carlson (knee) is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Brewers.

Impact Carlson also sat out of Monday's series opener versus Milwaukee after suffering a left ankle sprain in Sunday night's series finale at Fenway Park. Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbaar and Tommy Edman will start across the outfield for the Cardinals on Tuesday evening.

MAY 16, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Paul Goldschmidt - Back-to-back two-hit games Goldschmidt went 2-for-3 with a double, two walks, two RBI and one run in Monday's 18-1 win over the Brewers.

Impact Goldschmidt has posted four hits across the past two games and has turned in three multi-hit efforts in his last four contests, bringing his season-long batting average up from .306 to .319. Though the Cardinals are still sitting eight games under .500 for the season, the team's struggles don't fall on the shoulders of the reigning National League MVP. His .949 OPS is only 33 behind his mark from 2022, and he's already two stolen bases away from matching last season's total of seven.

MAY 16, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Lars Nootbaar - Crosses plate four times Nootbaar went 2-for-4 with two walks and four runs in Monday's 18-1 win over the Brewers.

Impact Nootbaar has been rewarded handsomely from sitting atop a potent St. Louis lineup that has produced 27 runs over the past two games, as he's come around to score seven times. The lefty-hitting Nootbaar will drop toward the bottom of the order when St. Louis faces southpaws, but he looks like he'll be locked into the leadoff role versus righties now that he's overcome his slow start to the season. Since the beginning of May, Nootbaar is slashing .380/.475/.520 with five extra-base hits, three steals, 13 runs and seven RBI in 13 games.

MAY 16, 2023 • ROTOWIRE