St. Louis Cardinals: Trevor Rosenthal likely done for the year
By Tim Haberin
The St. Louis Cardinals have moved Trevor Rosenthal to the 60-day DL, which means they probably won’t see the reliever again in 2017.
If the St. Louis Cardinals are to fight their way into a playoff spot, they’re likely going to have to do it without Trevor Rosenthal.
The team announced it has transferred the relief pitcher from the 10-day to the 60-day disabled list, according to MLB.com. Rosenthal was initially placed on the DL last week after experiencing irritation in his right elbow. Left-hander Ryan Sherriff has been selected from Triple-A Memphis to take his place on the 40-man roster.
This development effectively ends Rosenthal’s 2017 season. It’s a tough blow for the Cardinals considering the 27-year-old right-hander had been enjoying a solid bounce-back season. He sported a 3.40 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 3.80 K/BB ratio over 47.2 innings.
After reclaiming the closer’s role he lost last year, Rosenthal went 11-for-13 in save opportunities. His 14.35 K/9 rate ranks fourth among all qualified relievers, trailing only Craig Kimbrel (16.81), Dellin Betances (15.51) and Corey Knebel (15.08).
Rosenthal struggled significantly last season while dealing with a shoulder injury. He produced a 4.46 ERA, 1.91 WHIP and 1.93 K/BB in 40.1 frames. While he fanned opponents at a strong 12.5 K/9 clip, he also issued a career-high 6.5 BB/9. Rosenthal eventually stopped seeing save situations due to his ineffectiveness. He had notched a total of 93 saves the previous two years.
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Seung-hwan Oh will likely take over as closer. He’s had a fair showing in 2017, though not nearly as dominant as he was a season ago. The 35-year-old righty owns a 3.69 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 4.00 K/BB in 53.2 innings. He’s converted 19 of 22 save chances.
Last year, Oh generated a sparkling 1.92 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 5.72 K/BB over 79.2 innings in his first MLB campaign. He also earned 19 saves in 23 opportunities. Oh’s K/9 has slipped from 11.6 to 8.7 between this year and last, and his hits per nine have risen from 6.2 to 10.1, but it hasn’t seemed to affect him much as far as nailing down saves is concerned.
As we near the final week of August, St. Louis finds itself still very much in the race on both fronts. They’re 4.5 games behind the Cubs in the NL Central and five games behind the Rockies for the second Wild Card spot. It will be tough not having Rosenthal in the bullpen as they go down the stretch, but the Cards will need to make do with what’s available to them.
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Their relievers as a whole have managed a 4.08 ERA, which ranks 13th in the majors. Aside from Rosenthal and Oh, Tyler Lyons, John Brebbia and Sam Tuivailala are the only relief pitchers with at least 20 appearances to have an ERA under 4.00.