St. Louis Cardinals: Trevor Rosenthal Dazzles in First Game Back

The St. Louis Cardinals bullpen has been a sore spot early on in the 2017 season. However, Trevor Rosenthal’s return from the disabled list may have sparked a rebound.

The struggling St. Louis Cardinals received a boost Monday after reliever Trevor Rosenthal was activated off of the disabled list. Sam Tuivailala was optioned to Triple-A Memphis to open up a spot for Rosenthal and he got involved right away.

Rosenthal was called upon to throw in the seventh inning against the Washington Nationals in their first of a three-game series. The Cardinals ended up losing 14-6 but Rosenthal was a bright spot for the bullpen considering they surrendered eight runs.

He struck out the side in the seventh on only 14 pitches and immediately flashed the high-velocity fastball he is known for. Rosenthal averaged 98.4 mph on his fastballs and topped out at 99.9. He also got batters to swing and miss four times on his heater.

“I felt pretty good,” Rosenthal said to Jennifer Langosch of MLB.com. “I’ll continue to hopefully get in a rhythm and build off of that. I definitely want to fine-tune some things. But I think it was a good first step. It’s good to be back out there.”

Rosenthal was originally placed on the 10-day disabled list at the end of March due to a lat issue. The injury seemed to have effect him periodically throughout spring training but was never considered “severe.”

More from St Louis Cardinals News

• Cardinals Rumors: 3 pros and cons of signing Carlos Rodon
• Cardinals: Here is Willson Contreras’ first message for St. Louis fans
• How do the St. Louis Cardinals stack up with Willson Contreras?
• Cardinals: The insane asking price the Athletics had for Sean Murphy
• St. Louis Cardinals: Ask me anything with Josh Jacobs – 12/8

The Cards placed Rosenthal on the 10-day disabled list on March 30 due to recurring tightness around his right lat muscle. He had Spring Training interrupted by the same injury, but he said the second occurrence was not as severe as the first.

The St. Louis Cardinals had a plan for Rosenthal that included the possibility of being a starter but ultimately his injury derailed that plan. Rosenthal is likely now going to be held to a typical reliever role but may see extended outings in order to be a bridge between a starter and the back of the bullpen.

Next: The Bullpen is Struggling...Badly

Regardless of his role, Cardinals fans were surely happy with his performance in a disappointing game. Rosenthal was one of the few positive takeaways from game 1 against the Nationals and hopefully he can build off of that success going forward. The Cardinals bullpen has been horrendous thus far and his arm can make a big impact if he remains healthy and consistent. Who knows…he may even be able to reclaim his closer role.