Callups limited by severe lack of at-bats for newcomers
HOUSTON — St. Louis Cardinals officials said that their (late) September callups were limited to four players because the amount of playing time and at-bats remaining for them in the season is significantly limited. Both lefty Royce Ring and left fielder Allen Craig were considered for the late-season promotions, but neither got the invite Thursday to join four of their Class AAA teammates on the trip to the majors.
Ring and Craig had be added to the 40-man roster, but Craig — after a breakout season that saw him lead Triple-A Memphis in homers and RBIs, as well as hit .400 after the All-Star break — will be soon enough.
GM John Mozeliak said the 40 wasn’t the hitch. At-bats were.
That sentiment was echoed by manager Tony La Russa.
“How are you going to use him?” the manager asked, rhetorically this afternoon. “That was a problem. We already have Khalil (Greene). Now we have David (Freese). Putting him on the roster when you don’t need him doesn’t make sense. It would be a nice gesture for him. He had a hell of a year. But what would that give us? Sixteen (position players)? That’s just a lot of players.”
Asked if he saw Craig’s success against lefthanders as a weapon he considered for the bench, La Russa again pointed to the righthanded hitters already in the dugout and said the at-bats would just be too scarce for Craig. Craig must be added to the 40-man roster this winter or he’ll be eligible in the Rule 5 draft.
La Russa said the use of infielders Freese, Tyler Greene, catcher Matt Pagnozzi and reliever Josh Kinney would be determined in part by how they can fill-in for the players getting ready for October.
Pagnozzi’s promotion means La Russa has now managed two generations of a family in the majors. La Russa’s tenure overlapped with Tom Pagnozzi’s turn as the Cardinals’ catcher, and Matt is his nephew.
-30-
(4 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
Loading ...
Derrick Goold said he was going to Mizzou for capital-J journalism, but after growing up in the Time Zone Baseball Forgot he was really drawn to MU sitting between two major-league cities. Goold joined the Post-Dispatch in 2001 after working for The Times-Picayune and Rocky Mountain News, covering sports from LSU to NHL and every level of baseball in between. 
DGoold… Has anyone asked LaRussa about his perceived disinterest in Craig? If not, can you? Seems like he has a very plausible reason for not bringing him up at this point. The “downside” of the Redbirds advancing to the AAA Championship.
LaRussa ackowledged Craig has had a hell of a year so he seems to recognize the kid has some talent. What are the odds Craig could earn some type of role with the big club next year?
Craig better not go into the rule V draft that would just agitate a bunch of fans who see a player Craig who can backup three positions with great power potential.
Craig won’t see the light of day here. La Russa has made it obvious from the get-go that he’s not interested in him.
“How are you going to use him,” TLR asks? Well, for starters, how about INSTEAD of the anxiety ridden Khalil Greene, who isn’t really a pinch-hitting threat b/c he can’t hit either LH or RH pitching. He’s not exactly a reliable glove, either, so Craig’s glove can’t be graded that much below what Khalil has shown us this season. Even with no MLB experience, I would have more confidence in Freese or Craig coming to bat as a post-season pinch hitter than Khalil, who HAS post-season experience.
I don’t read TLR having a bias vs. Craig yet. He doesn’t make as much sense here as other guys. I don’t see the Cardinals leaving him unprotected in the Rule 5 draft either. TLR does have biases (see Brendan Ryan) but the way that’s worked out makes me think TLR has softened a bit to the way the front office wants things done–and it’s worked out for everyone in that circumstance. TLR has certainly won his share of battles this year. Craig isn’t even eligible for post-season roster, so why start any possible ticking of major league service time? He’s also becoming a valuable trade chip if we can hang onto Holliday and decide to keep Ludwick around a few more years. Personally I see him as a call-up next year, and battling Daryl Jones for starting OF spot–in 2011.
I don’t see any anti-Craig bias from TLR. He’s just being realistic. I guarantee he’ll be added to the 40-man roster once Khalil Greene and Glaus (among others) depart for free agency. He will NOT be exposed in the Rule V draft. I am sure he will get a chance to compete for a job next year, but he might end up being our version of Jake Fox — a good hitter without a clear defensive position. (Hopefully they can find one. If Holliday isn’t back, he could have a spot in left field….)
Well, the time between now and Spring training will shed the light on Craigs situation. This situation is not anything new that we have not seen before. Skip Schumaker and Brendon Ryan both paid their dues doing the Memphis shuffle. Most folks thought Rasmus deserved to be on the team last year after the spring he had. I hope Allen Craig just toes the line and does not become so frustrated that he loses focus. If he continues to hit his time will come one way or the other and the Cardinals should benefit from his talent one way or the other.
I am GLAD someone besides me started talking about Allen Craig on here.
I think he will be a better hitter and fielder in the majors than Brett Wallace.
Isn’t K-Green essentially toast? He’s contract is up at the end of the year? He’s not really even #2 at any position, so why not give him an early vacation and give a rookie some exposure the bigs even if it is on the bench. Not bashing Greene, I really hope he can recover and play for somebody next year.
I hope that very careful consideration is given to putting Tyler Greene in the lineup. His at-bats with the Cards earlier this year consistently resulted in outs.