St. Louis Cardinals promote Joey Butler, send Randal Grichuk to Memphis

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Looking for more power off the bench, the St. Louis Cardinals have promoted Joey Butler from the Memphis Redbirds.
Feb 24, 2014; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals player Joey Butler (56) during photo day at Roger Dean Stadium. Image Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Promoting Butler and optioning Randal Grichuk to Memphis comes as the Cardinals start a weekend series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The right-handed outfielder, Joey Butler, will be in uniform tonight.

In 86 at-bats with the Redbirds, the 28 year old is hitting .360, good enough to be ranked 5th in the Pacific Coast League. His .481 on-base percentage is ranked second. Butler has seen playing time as both a left fielder and designated hitter. At Memphis, Butler hit 4 home runs and knocked in 20 runs. With runners in scoring position, he has a .458 batting average in 24 at-bats.

The Cardinals claimed Butler off waivers last year from the Texas Rangers. In 2012, Butler was named to the PCL All-Star team. Drafted in 2008 out of the University of New Orleans, Butler has a batting average over .300 in the 400 games played in the AAA level.

Whether Butler will see any starts in the outfield remains to be seen. It will certainly be nice to see some power coming off the bench given that it’s unlikely to come from the likes of Daniel Descalso or Jon Jay. Butler makes for a good option in right field should Mike Matheny give more time off to Allen Craig while he figures out what he’s not doing right at the plate.