As this season to forget nears its end, the St. Louis Cardinals are looking head into the offseason with a better idea of where they stand with some of their younger talent.
Following the losses of starters Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty at the trade deadline and the impending retirement of Adam Wainwright, St. Louis has some serious holes to fill in the rotation.
With this season being a lost cause, St. Louis is poised to make a roster adjustment to test the arm of the top prospect acquired in the Jack Flaherty trade.
"To make room on the (St. Louis Cardinals) roster for left-handed pitcher Drew Rom’s first Major League Baseball start tonight in Pittsburgh, right-handed pitcher Guillermo Zuniga was optioned to Triple-A Memphis, per the club," MLB.com's John Denton tweeted Monday.
Zuñiga made his MLB debut earlier this season for St. Louis but has only seen the mound for two innings pitched in which he gave up one earned run and logged four strikeouts.
The 24-year-old signed with the Braves as an international free agent back in 2016 and recorded a 19-15 record with a 4.54 ERA, 294-119 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .249 batting average against, and 1.41 WHIP in 254 innings pitched throughout his seven-season minor league career.
It seems that the Cardinals have other plans for Zuñiga at the moment and would rather see him get some innings pitched in Triple-A Memphis while Rom gains experience in the big leagues.
Rom is poised to make his MLB debut Monday night versus the Pittsburgh Pirates and fans will get their first glimpse at seeing what the Cardinals received in exchange for homegrown talent Flaherty.
Could this debut be the start of something new for St. Louis or will it go down as a rough learning experience for the rookie?
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