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The Cardinals have put catcher Carson Kelly on the 10-day disabled list with a right hamstring strain, the team announced. In doing so, they purchased the contract of catcher Steven Baron from Triple-A Memphis and moved starter Adam Wainwright to the 60-day DL to allow Baron to be put on the 40-man roster.
The #STLCards have placed C Carson Kelly (right hamstring strain) on the 10-day DL and purchased the contract of C Steven Baron from Memphis (AAA). To make room for Baron on the 40-man roster, the Cardinals have transferred RHP Adam Wainwright from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL. pic.twitter.com/bGU1EKkQVg
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 17, 2018
Kelly’s injury makes the Cardinals have two catchers on the DL, as Kelly joins All-Star Yadier Molina after Molina had to have emergency surgery on his groin on May 5. Molina’s injury put him out at least a month.
Kelly was St. Louis’ top catching prospect and No. 3 prospect overall before being called up to replace Molina on the roster. Since being brought up to the big leagues for this season, the 23-year-old Kelly is slashing .111/.158/.111 in 19 plate appearances across eight games. Kelly also played 34 games for the Cardinals last year, but only slashed .174/.240/.217 in 75 plate appearances.
With Kelly now out, the Cardinals will look to Francisco Pena to man the backstop until one of them comes back. Pena is slashing .185/.267/.185 in 30 plate appearances during 12 games of action this year.
As for Wainwright, he will now be out until near the All-Star break. Wainwright is currently dealing with right elbow inflammation after having to exit his start last Sunday in the third inning.