Cardinals will stretch out Trevor Rosenthal as a starter - MLB

For the first time in his career, Cardinals reliever Trevor Rosenthal had a subpar season. The right-hander lost his role as the team’s closer during the year and finished with a 4.46 ERA and a 56/29 K/BB ratio in 40 1/3 innings. In the previous two seasons, Rosenthal was one of the more dominant closers in the National League.

The Cardinals, who thrived with Seung-hwan Oh in the closer’s role in the latter half of the season, plan to stretch out Rosenthal as a starter for spring training, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. If Rosenthal thrives, he could open the season in the rotation rather than the bullpen. Even if he doesn’t make the rotation, he could serve in more of a long man/swingman role.

Rosenthal’s agent, Scott Boras, said that his client is “excited about this potential, and so is the club.”

Cardinals GM John Mozeliak said, “It was something that he has had a desire to do. As we were looking at all the different moving pieces it doesn’t hurt to have an extra arm, and in the past we’ve felt like an extra arm would help.”

The Cardinals’ rotation is more than full, with Adam Wainwright, Carlos Martinez, Mike Leake, Lance Lynn, and Alex Reyes as well as Michael Wacha and Jaime Garcia. But teams rarely have the luxury of ending the season with the same exact rotation with which they opened the season, so having options is always a good idea.

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SAN DIEGO — The scuffling San Diego Padres claimed catcher Gary Sánchez off waivers from the New York Mets.

The two-time All-Star was designated for assignment after playing in three games for the Mets. He went 1 for 6 with three strikeouts and an RBI, looking shaky at times behind the plate.

With the disappointing Padres (24-29) getting meager offensive production at catcher, they hope Sánchez can provide a boost. Austin Nola is batting .131 with three extra-base hits and a paltry .434 OPS in 39 games. His part-time platoon partner, second-stringer Brett Sullivan, is hitting .170 with four extra-base hits and a .482 OPS in 21 games since getting called up from the minors April 16.

Luis Campusano has been on the injured list since April 17 and is expected to be sidelined until around the All-Star break following left thumb surgery.

San Diego is responsible for just over $1 million in salary for Sánchez after assuming his $1.5 million, one-year contract.

The star-studded Padres have lost seven of 11 and are 3-3 on a nine-game East Coast trip. They open a three-game series at Miami.

San Diego becomes the third National League team to take a close look at the 30-year-old Sánchez this season. He spent time in the minors with San Francisco before getting released May 2 and signing a minor league contract a week later with the Mets, who were minus a couple of injured catchers at the time.

After hitting well in a short stint at Triple-A Syracuse, he was promoted to the big leagues May 19. When the Mets reinstated catcher Tomás Nido from the injured list last week, Sánchez was cut.

Sánchez’s best seasons came early in his career with the New York Yankees, where he was runner-up in 2016 AL Rookie of the Year voting and made the AL All-Star team in 2017 and 2019.

He was traded to Minnesota before the 2022 season and batted .205 with 16 homers and 61 RBIs in 128 games last year.

With the Padres, Sánchez could also be a candidate for at-bats at designated hitter, where 42-year-old Nelson Cruz is batting .245 with three homers, 16 RBIs and a .670 OPS, and 37-year-old Matt Carpenter is hitting .174 with four homers, 21 RBIs and a .652 OPS.