St. Louis Cardinals: Luke Gregerson returns to DL with shoulder injury

The reliever has only appeared in 17 games for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2018 after battling a consecutive slew of injuries. Now he returns to the disabled list with a right shoulder impingement, and Tyler Webb is being called up as a result.

Luke Gregerson has been a tough signing for John Mozeliak and the St. Louis Cardinals so far.  While the $11 M over two seasons doesn’t seem like a terrible burden to shoulder, it has essentially been dead money with Gregerson. He hasn’t quite gotten right in the times he has preformed, but his performance is still closer to his 4.96 FIP than his 7.11 ERA on the year.

Unfortunately, neither of those numbers are very appealing, especially over such a small sample of games. His struggles are demonstrative of the injury plagued season he has had. It has been a rough turn of events for both parties involved, especially considering the youth and the struggles within the Cardinals bullpen.

It’s tough to say at this point whether or not Gregerson will be able to effectively pitch up to the expectations of his contract, and both Gregerson and manager Mike Shildt have admitted the worst case scenario is still on the table.

It wouldn’t suprise me at this point if Gregerson doesn’t pitch, but it will still be a tragic end to a rough season for him. He is definitely better than the player he has been in a St. Louis Cardinals uniform so far, with a 3.10 career ERA and four seasons with a sub-3 ERA.

Tyler Webb is an interesting case. If you tuned into the most recent episode of the Redbird Rants Podcast, then you’ll know exactly where myself and some of our other writers stand when it comes to Webb.

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He gave up three hits and no runs in two innings in his Cardinals debut, which is a bright spot on his stat sheet. He has never had a year with more than 9 games, nor with an ERA under 4.50. At this point, he just seems like a desperate stop gap. Hopefully the Cardinals can help him work his issues out, or he might be back in the minors before you know it.

Either way, the Gregerson injury saga has dealt a blow to an already staggering bullpen. That’s the last thing the Cardinals need right now. They are still just four games out of the playoffs, and still have time and a chance to put things together and make a final run under Shildt. This injury certainly doesn’t help that cause though.

What do you think of Gregerson’s injury saga? Will he return this season? How do you think Tyler Webb will do? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.