Cardinals announce 2 roster moves before Brewers game

With the St. Louis Cardinals looking to make noise in the NL Central, the team has made two interesting moves before Tuesday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers, coming off Monday’s 5-1 loss to the same team. One of the moves is made after the Cardinals called up pitcher Brycen Mautz, as he will now be sent back down to the minor leagues.

St. Louis would announce on their social media pages that Mautz has been optioned to Triple-A ball in Memphis, while the team is calling up Ryan Fernandez from the same ball club. This comes after Mautz made his MLB debut on Monday.

“RHP Ryan Fernandez has been recalled from Memphis (AAA),” the team wrote Tuesday on X, formerly Twitter. “LHP Brycen Mautz has been optioned to Memphis.

As mentioned, it was a short stay for Mautz as the Cardinals’ No. 20 prospect, via MLB Pipeline, saw his start against the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday postponed because of rain, prompting him to show up in the sixth inning on Monday. In the three innings pitched, he struck out two batters, while allowing two runs, two walks, and four hits.

“It was definitely a little bit of a rollercoaster,” Mautz said, via MLB.com. “You mentally prepare to face that [Reds] lineup, then come here, like, ‘OK, now I have to remember what it’s like to come out of the ‘pen and be ready for that situation.’ But it’s what the game requires.”

Cardinals bring back Ryan Fernandez after short stay in Memphis 

Looking at Fernandez, he returns to the Cardinals as his last appearance came on Saturday against the Reds, and after being sent to the minors, he is back. In two innings pitched with Triple-A Memphis on Saturday, he punched out three in the first inning, retiring all six batters, garnering the impression of manager Oliver Marmol.

“You look at the fastball, but then he ripped through some sliders that we saw when he was having success,” Marmol said Sunday, via The St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

It remains to be seen how Fernandez does with St. Louis and when Mautz will return.