St. Louis Cardinals: Brett Cecil begins rehab assignment

Brett Cecil will make his return from the DL starting with a rehab stint in Memphis. Could he actually make an impact in the St. Louis Cardinals bullpen?

General Manager Michael Girsch announced that relief pitcher Brett Cecil will start his rehab assignment in AAA Memphis tonight. Cecil has been sidelined with a foot injury since July 27th, when the St. Louis Cardinals made a flurry of bullpen moves.

Cecil has not had a strong year so far, with a 5.70 ERA and a 1.98 WHIP across 23.2 innings pitched. He also has walked more batters than struck out batters, which is obviously never a good thing. He has been a disappointment since signing with the Cardinals in 2016, with a 4.35 ERA since joining St. Louis.

Cecil has not been the same since he was in Toronto, where he made the American League All-Star team back in 2013 and was lights during from 2013 to 2016. After struggling as a starter at the start of his career, he made the switch to middle relief, and it went uphill from there.

This is not his first time on the DL this year. Cecil started the 2018 season on the DL with a strained shoulder and made his return in mid-May. He struggled up until getting hurt again in late July.

It is likely that Cecil will replace John Brebbia or Tyler Webb in the bullpen. They have both done solid jobs so far, but Cecil will have the upper hand, as he is out of options and also cannot be traded due to a no-trade clause.

There is not a timetable on how long Cecil will be in Memphis. It will depend on how he performs and if his foot is still nagging him.

Could Brett Cecil finally be a decent piece in the bullpen when he returns? Could Cecil maybe get back to his All-Star self? Leave your thoughts in the comments. Thanks for reading!