St. Louis Cardinals: Luke Gregerson reigns dominant in Springfield

In his most recent rehab outing, Luke Gregerson tossed a scoreless inning for the St. Louis Cardinals Double A affiliate.

The original plan was for Luke Gregerson to close games for the St. Louis Cardinals this season. That has not quite worked out. Injuries have riddled the reliever’s tenure with the Redbirds; the most recent was surgery to repair a torn meniscus.

Gregerson threw two rehab appearances for Memphis, giving up a combined two hits and one unearned run over two innings. Following his last outing with the Triple A affiliate, he was sent to Springfield. It took only nine pitches, eight of them strikes, for the 34 year old veteran to toss a scoreless frame.

Springfield Dominance

Adding that last inning into the mix, Gregerson has now thrown 17 consecutive scoreless innings in a Springfield Cardinals uniform. This dates back to when he was a member of the team back in 2008. That makes ten straight outings of Double A dominance.

For his Double A career, opposing batters are hitting just .220 off of Gregerson in 77 innings of work. He carries an ERA in the low threes, and averages over a strikeout an inning.

Gergerson and the Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals were the team to draft Gregerson back in 28th round of the 2006 draft. He never made it to the MLB for the organization, however. The reliever would make his debut with the San Diego Padres after being the player to be named later in the Khalil Greene trade back in December of 2008.

He has come full circle and is back with the Cardinals, but it has been a rocky road to say the least. In 12 appearances, Gregerson has recorded just 8.1 innings with an ERA above 12. But, injuries have plagued him more than once this season.

Gregerson is signed through 2019 with a club option for 2020. He will make five million dollars a year, and there is a one million dollar buyout after the 2019 season. But that might not even be enough to cover his hospital bills from this year.

Next: The state of the organization

If he can finally be healthy and be a productive member of the St. Louis Cardinals bullpen, that would give Mike Matheny another weapon to use. However, his health is a huge question. One thing is certain, Gregerson has a future in Double A if nothing else.