St. Louis Cardinals: Dexter Fowler activated and Stephen Piscotty optioned

ST. LOUIS, MO - JULY 8: Stephen Piscotty
ST. LOUIS, MO - JULY 8: Stephen Piscotty

The St. Louis Cardinals front office was tasked with some tough roster moves today after Dexter Fowler returned from his DL stint.

Today the St. Louis Cardinals activated Dexter Fowler from the 10-day DL. In a corresponding move the team will send Stephen Piscotty to Memphis. The move comes after a very rough stretch for Piscotty, dating back to before his own DL stint.

With the move the Cardinals are showing their fans they are still focused on actually winning this season. Sending Piscotty down will allow him to retool his swing and collect himself. This season has been a disappointment for Piscotty but the Cardinals will hope that a trip to Memphis will allow him to rediscover his old self.

This move not only affects Fowler and Piscotty, but also Jose Martinez. Martinez who has been one of the hottest bats for the Cardinals of late looked like he could be on his way back to Memphis when Fowler returned. Fortunately for him and Cardinal fans, Martinez hot bat will stay with the team for the time being.

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Fowler will return after two weeks with a strained right forearm. In his return he will bat sixth in the lineup, the lowest of the season for him. This is in part due to his struggles, but also the emergence of Tommy Pham and Paul Dejong. Those two have cemented themselves along with Matt Carpenter at the top of the order.

For Fowler, the rest of the season will be used to show the front office and the fans that he is worth the money they spent on him this offseason. To date, Fowler has not thrived as much as some would have hoped for. The hope will be that he can finish out the year healthy and perform up to the expectations he and the team have for him.

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The Cardinals will be back in action tonight as Carlos Martinez will take the mound for the Cardinals at 7:15 PM CT against the Kansas City Royals. The team will have another shot at getting to .500. They also will look to continue to close the gap on the division leading Chicago Cubs.