Cardinals place Grichuk on 15-day DL, recall Pham from Memphis
A day after removing him from a game early, the St. Louis Cardinals have placed outfielder Randal Grichuk on the 15-day disabled list with a right elbow strain. Outfielder Tommy Pham has been recalled from Triple A Memphis to replace him on the roster.
Grichuk, 24, has a .284 batting average with 44 RBIs and 15 home runs in 85 games for St. Louis, playing primarily in center field the last month. He left Sunday's game after the seventh inning with right elbow discomfort.
Grichuk's 43 extra-base hits rank first among all major league rookies, and his 15 home runs are tied for third and his 44 RBIs sixth among first-year players. Since the All-Star break, Grichuk's eight home runs are tied for fourth among all National League hitters and his .612 slugging percentage ranks 11th. He is the first St. Louis rookie since Johnny Mize in 1936 with 21-plus doubles, seven-plus triples and 15-plus home runs.
This will be the second stint with the Cardinals for Pham, 27. He started 10 games and appeared in 13 in July. He picked up his first big-league home run on July 5 vs. San Diego, and overall batted .182 with four doubles, one homer and three RBIs.
Pham is batting .327 at Memphis, but over his last 23 games he has a .354 average (29 for 82) with 11 walks and 17 RBIs, recording 10 multi-hit games during that span. This is Pham's 10th season in the Cardinals organization after being drafted in the 16th round (496th overall) of the June 2006 draft.
