The Cardinals made a move between today’s doubleheader games. They chose the left Jared Shuster in the list. Left Bruce Zimmermann nominated to be given a corresponding motion.
Zimmermann was added to the list this morning. According to Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat, the Cards wanted to give starters more rest Michael McGreevy again Andre Pallante. That meant Zimmermann was designated as the pinch hitter for today’s Twins first game, Hunter Dobbins starting a nightcap. Zimmermann did well enough, allowing three earned runs over five innings, though the Brewers won the game 4-3.
It seems the Cards didn’t plan on Zimmermann staying beyond this exit, so he was quickly delisted. He ran out of options and could not easily be returned to the children. Instead, he will probably be gone in the coming days.
Signed to a minor league deal in the offseason, Zimmerman had been hitting well before this call-up. He made 15 runs at Triple-A on the year, pitching 78 2/3 innings, allowing 3.78 earned runs per nine. His 25.7% strikeout rate, 6.4% walk rate and 42.9% ground ball rate are all better than average numbers.
Perhaps that will lead to interest from other clubs, especially with several teams dealing with increasing injuries. Zimmermann doesn’t throw particularly hard, averaging less than 90 miles per hour with his fastball this year, but he has a six-pitch mix to keep hitters honest. He has 164 1/3 major league innings in his career with a 5.64 ERA, a 17.5% strikeout rate, a 5.2% walk rate and a 41.9% ground ball rate.
Shuster gives the club a new arm for the second game. The 27-year-old signed a minor league contract with the Cards at the start of the season and is now on the roster for the third time this year. In the first two cases each appeared twice before being selected for the assignment, as he could not choose. In both cases, he cleared waivers and went straight to Triple-A.
In the process, Shuster allowed two earned runs in 7 2/3 major league innings. However, his big league track record isn’t that great, and so are his minor league results this year. In 149 1/3 big league innings over four seasons, he has a 5.12 ERA, a 15% strikeout rate, a 10.1% walk rate and a 37% groundball rate. In Triple-A this year, he went 27 2/3 innings with an 8.78 ERA. A lot of that inflated ERA is unfortunate but even his 6.99 FIP isn’t very promising.
Shuster may be on the DFA carousel again tomorrow. As mentioned, you are out of options. It was also reported that the Cardinals are planning to make a selection Luis Gastelum this week, so maybe he and Shuster will trade places after tonight’s doubleheader.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Curry, Imagn Images
