(Busch Stadium) As this afternoon unfolded, those who already had a ticket for tonight’s St. Louis Cardinals game had a little more to be excited about as the team announced the addition of Alex Reyes to the 25-man roster.
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“It’s amazing,” smiled Reyes has he donned his #61 uniform before the game. “It’s an honor to put this uniform on and to be in the clubhouse with all these guys. It’s huge–it’s a huge accomplishment. I’m happy to be here and can’t wait to get out on the mound.”
In 14 starts at Memphis (AAA), Reyes went 2-3 and struck out 93 batters in 65.1 innings pitched.
“Command of the ball down in the zone–both off-speed and fastball is one of the things we were working on this year,” said Reyes, who understands the expectation the Cardinals fan base has for him. “You see it on Twitter, as much as I try to not to pay mind to it. I see it. People tag me on posts here and there. Just being here and hopefully giving the team a chance to win is–I’m excited and happy to be here.”
“I really just don’t think about it,” he continued. “You see it, but if you think about it then you’ll probably let it get to you or it’ll effect you in some kind of way. I try not to think about it and go out and pitch the best that I can.”
“It’s certainly a big opportunity for him,” said General Manager John Mozeliak. “You think of all the things we’re going through and dealing with injuries, you always hate to make these decisions based on losing a player but when you think about the depth that we’ve been able to create at Memphis and giving Alex this chance to work out of the bullpen, I think is a very exciting time for him.”
The move was necessitated by Michael Wacha being placed on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation and a recurrence, though less severe, recurrence of the scapular condition that sidelined him for much of 2014.
“He’s definitely been struggling with command for some time,” said Mozeliak. “In terms of us feeling that it was time to get him looked at, certainly felt after last night’s outing this made sense.”
Wacha pitched 5.0 innings last night, allowing 4 runs with 4 walks and 3 strikeouts on 86 pitches.
Right-hander Luke Weaver will make his ML debut on Saturday, taking Wacha’s spot in the rotation.
photo credit: Bill Greenblatt/UPI
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