St. Louis Cardinals activate Jaime Garcia, option Jorge Rondon to Memphis

The St. Louis Cardinals have activated left-handed pitcher Jaime Garcia from the 15-day disabled list.

This will be Garcia’s first start for the Cardinals in just over a year to the day. His most recent appearance came on May 17, 2013. In being activated off the DL, Garcia’s start will be the 100th appearance of his career and his 91st career start.

To make room for the Mexican native, the Cardinals optioned right-handed relief pitcher Jorge Rondon to Memphis (AAA, Pacific Coast League) in advance of the series finale against the Atlanta Braves this afternoon.

Garcia made a few rehab starts this month with Springfield and Memphis. One of his rehab starts led to a bruised elbow–which could have been a lot worse than it actually was.

Garcia has posted a 39-25 record in his career with a 3.45 ERA. Last season, the left-hander had posted a 5-2 record with a 3.58 ERA before being pulled from the rotation in May. Injury plagued for a majority of his career with the Cardinals, it was apparent that Garcia would be unable to finish the season as he required surgery for a torn labrum and rotator cuff.

Garcia is signed through the end of the 2015 season with team options for both the 2016 and 2017 seasons. With recent draft picks such as left-handed pitchers Tim Cooney, Marco Gonzales, and Rob Kaminsky, it seems unlikely that the team would pick up their first option for Garcia after the 2015 season.