ST. LOUIS (AP) -Persistent knee pain landed St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Preston Wilson on the 15-day disabled list on Sunday, and the team replaced him with its best minor league hitter.
Outfielder Ryan Ludwick, whose contract was purchased from Triple-A Memphis, was batting a team-leading .340 with eight home runs, and his 36 RBIs and 27 runs led the Pacific Coast League. Manager Tony La Russa immediately plugged him into the struggling lineup that trailed the NL in runs, batting him sixth against the Houston Astros on Sunday. He played right field.
“He’s playing well and that spot is open,” La Russa said. “He’s excited, ready to go, so let him go.”
The team also purchased the contract of right-handed reliever Brian Falkenborg, who leads the PCL with nine saves and was 0-1 with a 2.03 ERA in 11 games.
Wilson was batting .219 with one homer and five RBIs in 64 at-bats. He had been getting a lot of playing time with outfielder Juan Encarnacion on a rehab assignment following offseason wrist surgery, but La Russa said he’d experienced persistent pain and swelling since spring training.
La Russa also said Wilson has had arthritis in the knee for several seasons. The team felt that Wilson would need probably three weeks of rest and rehab.
“The doctors feel like he should get off of it for a couple of weeks and hopefully get it right,” La Russa said.
La Russa said Encarnacion, who was batting .146 with two RBIs in 41 at-bats, needs more time.
“He’s getting better, but if he’s not ready we don’t need him to come up here and struggle,” La Russa said. “It takes a while to get your stroke.”
Ludwick’s brother, pitcher Eric Ludwick, played for the Cardinals in 1996-97 and was sent to Oakland in the deal for Mark McGwire in ’97. The 28-year-old Ryan Ludwick is in the majors for the first time since 2005.
“A lot of people could have given up,” Ludwick said. “I didn’t give up. I’ve been swinging the bat pretty well down there and I want to carry it over up here.”
The Cardinals optioned reliever Dennis Dove, who allowed a grand slam in Saturday’s 13-0 loss to the Astros. In three games Dove allowed two homers and five earned runs in three innings for a 15.00 ERA.
Dove had been a short-term call up, holding a spot for Chris Carpenter. Carpenter, whose elbow failed to respond to a rehab program and rest, will undergo surgery on Tuesday to shave bone spurs and will be sidelined three months.
Right-handed reliever Brad Thompson will fill Carpenter’s spot in the rotation on Tuesday against the Colorado Rockies and could get more starts based on that performance. Exploring a trade would be a second option. Thompson, who is 1-0 with a 4.67 ERA in 14 relief appearances this season, has one career start in his three years in the majors.
“I think you always look within first,” La Russa said. “Brad will go out there and we’ll evaluate it as we go along.
“I just don’t know that it’s possible to do more than go series to series.”
The team did not consider left-hander Randy Keisler, optioned back to Memphis last month after compiling a 5.65 ERA in three fill-in starts.
“I think Randy has some stuff he needs to work on,” La Russa said. “We think Randy can pitch in this league and hopefully he’ll really dial it in.”
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