The St. Louis Cardinals are demoting right-handed pitcher Hunter Dobbins to Triple-A Memphis. In a corresponding move, the team has selected the contract of Peter Strzlecki.
Dobbins, 26, was acquired from the Boston Red Sox this past offseason. As it stands, he has a 3.74 ERA through his first 33.2 innings for the Cardinals.
This season, Dobbins has been in slingshot mode. One day he’s a starter for the Redbirds. Then, he’s pitching out of relief, and then he gets sent down. At some point, the Cardinals will have to elongate his stay and give him real runway.
Dobbins has shown real promise this season, with a bowling ball sinker, solid sweeper, and a splitter that’s had great tumbling action.
Strzlecki, a journeyman, was recently signed by the Cardinals. He serves mostly as a depth piece, but has a respectable 3.44 ERA in his career of 83.2 innings.
Strzlecki finds his success by limiting walks and inducing soft contact. St. Louis will almost certainly use him before the end of their series against the rival Cubs.
Cardinals’ fans are not excited about this move, as Dobbins has been a fun watch for The Lou when he’s with the big club.
Social Media Reacts to Cardinals Demoting Hunter Dobbins
Here’s what people are saying:
Derrick Goold: “Matthew Liberatore is set to make his next scheduled start, Oli Marmol told us today. Dobbins can return at any point if there is an injury or a trade, so the minimum stay at Class AAA is less of a factor.”
Brenden Schaeffer: “Cardinals announce Hunter Dobbins has been optioned to AAA. RHP Peter Strzelecki has his contract selected.”
Derrick Goold: “To recap: – #stlcards keep Hunter Dobbins on active roster after start, shortening the bullpen by one. – They are down Riley O’Brien (undisclosed ailment, not feeling well) and JoJo Romero (appendectomy, IL) – They buy bullpen a break by splitting Monday game.”
Brandon Kiley: “This feels like it should be a pretty important night for Hunter Dobbins.”
Adam Akbani: “Dobbins will be unavailable for a few days after throwing a starter’s workload last night. With 20 games in 20 days, they need another fresh arm. If they kept him around, the team would realistically have 12 pitchers rather than 13 for the next handful of games. Move makes sense.”
STL Sports Central: “RHP Hunter Dobbins has been optioned to AAA. The #STLCards are selecting RHP Peter Strzelecki as the corresponding move. Strzelecki, 31, was signed by the club last week. He’s pitched to a 3.94 ERA and 1.12 WHIP across 32 minor league innings this season.”
St. Louis Right Now
The Cardinals enter game two of their series against the Cubs on a terrible cold streak.
After dropping a series to the lowly Reds, St. Louis followed up by dropping game one to the Cubs.
Matthew Liberatore continued his ineffective season on the mound, and the offense was held at bay by the Cubs’ flailing starter David Peterson.
St. Louis looks primed to sell now, after its recent skid, and most, if not all, of the MLB team could be available.
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