The Cardinals announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Luis Gastelum, a move that MLBTR covered yesterday. In a corresponding move, left-hander Jared Shuster has been designated for assignment.
Shuster, 27, signed a minor league deal with the Cards in the offseason. Three times this year, he has been added to the big league roster. Since he is out of options, after a few appearances, each stint has ended with him being designated for assignment. He cleared waivers the first two times.
The most recent selection occurred yesterday, in between games of a doubleheader. The Cards were trying to avoid overworking their primary starters, so they called up Bruce Zimmermann and Hunter Dobbins to handle the bulk work in those contests. Zimmermann threw five innings in the first game, then the Cards put Shuster onto the roster in his place to give them one extra arm for the nightcap.
In the end, the Cards dropped both games of the twin bill. The first one was close, finishing 4-3, but they got trounced 10-2 in the second. A lot of that second result was Shuster’s fault. Dobbins allowed three runs in five innings. Down 3-0, the Cards put Shuster into the game. He put up a zero in the top of the sixth, then the Cards scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth to make it 3-2. They tried to get a few more outs from Shuster and sent him back out for the top of the seventh, but that did not work. The Brewers jumped all over Shuster and he was ultimately charged with seven earned runs while only recording one out in the seventh. That means he has now allowed nine earned runs in nine innings on the year overall.
Based on the way this year has gone, Shuster should be on waivers in the coming days. Assuming he clears and accepts an assignment to Memphis again, he can join the Redbirds and position himself to potentially be added to the roster again the next time the Cards need a fresh arm for the bullpen.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Curry, Imagn Images
