St. Louis Cardinals: Fowler heads to the DL, Harrison Bader called up

The injury bug continues to plague the St. Louis Cardinals outfield, again in the form of center fielder, Dexter Fowler.

Earlier today, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the St. Louis Cardinals would make some room in their roster. With the trade deadline looming, Goold was quick to note the roster move was “DL related.” In the same tweet, Goold also sounded the alarm bells for Harrison Bader fans.

Goold later confirmed St. Louis Cardinals’ center fielder, Dexter Fowler, will return to the DL. However, this DL-stint is related to a wrist strain, not his heels. Based on the nature of the injury, one can only assume Fowler’s injury came up in last night’s game. Manager Mike Matheny removed Fowler from last night’s game in a double-switch, peaking the interest of Cardinals’ fans early in the game.

This marks the second time Fowler lands on the DL this season. Fowler, who is hitting .241 this season, went on the DL for heel spurs the first time. Although an injury was not disclosed last night, many assumed Fowler was continuing to have heel problems. Unfortunately, now it is his wrist that needs time off.

Fowler’s injury comes at a crucial time for the St. Louis Cardinals. The team sits four games back of the Milwaukee Brewers entering today’s play, and look to close the gap even further with a victory over Colorado tonight. Fowler’s absence from the lineup will be felt in different ways, but if his wrist is not healthy enough to swing a bat, then the Cardinals cannot afford to waste time.

In fact, they wasted no time in deciding what to do.

As a result of Fowler’s DL-stint, the St. Louis Cardinals have called up outfielder, Harrison Bader. Bader will suit up tonight, and play CF. Outside of Carson Kelly, perhaps there is no other prospect deserving of a call up than Bader. Harrison Bader batted .297 with nineteen home runs and forty-eight RBI for the Memphis Redbirds. His OBP, SLG, and OPS were .354, .517, and .871 respectively.

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He is the number sixth rated prospect in the Cardinals’ farm system, and second outfield prospect behind recently acquired, Tyler O’Neill. Although you would like to see his call up come under different circumstances, the time is now for Harrison Bader.

Much is said of Tyler O’Neill, but I’m excited to see what Harrison Bader can do. Here are MLB Pipeline’s rankings on Bader:

Hit: 55

Power: 50

Run: 55

Arm: 50

Field: 50

Overall: 55

Bader has made a name for himself in the outfield, and looks to continue his success with the St. Louis Cardinals. Another intriguing thought is the timing of the call up. Bader will have about a week’s worth of games to play in right before the trade deadline. If the Cardinals find themselves buying the case for keeping Bader over O’Neill may dominate trade discussions.

Next: A week unil the trade deadline

No matter how this week goes for Bader, it’s exciting to see him on the big league squad. He just needs to focus on slowing the game down, and playing his game. If he can provide the St. Louis Cardinals with timely hitting, then there is a chance he will be on the team even after Fowler returns from the DL.