Shoulder inflammation will sideline starting pitcher Michael Wacha for at least the next 15 days.
The St. Louis Cardinals placed Wacha on the DL Tuesday. To fill his spot on the roster, St. Louis has purchased the contract of one of its top prospects, starting pitcher Alex Reyes.
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) August 9, 2016
An injury would go a long way in explaining Wacha’s season, which has been the worst of his career. Over the 23 starts and 131.1 innings, Wacha has amassed a 4.45 ERA, 1.424 WHIP and a K/9 rate of 7.5. All totals are career worsts.
Prior to 2016, the 25-year-old righty had been one of baseball’s best young arms. Wacha entered the season with a career 3.21 ERA, 1.187 WHIP and K/9 rate of 8.0.
The addition of Reyes to the Major League roster will no doubt excite many Cardinals fans. The big armed right-hander is one of MLB’s highest ranked prospects. He’s not having a great statistical season in 2016 (4.96 ERA, 1.454 WHIP), but possesses a dominant strikeout rate of 12.8 per nine innings.