At the tail end of a stretch of 19 games in 20 days, the Cardinals found themselves in need of another fresh arm to replenish a taxed bullpen.
They found that in 30-year-old righty Jacob Bosiokovic, who was called up from Class AAA Memphis ahead of the Cardinals’ series finale against the Reds.
“Getting Jacob up here allows him to get a taste of it with us and (for) us to lay eyes on what he has,†Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “His last month down there has been pretty electric, punchout rates through the roof, so it’d be good to see it.â€
Bosiokovic, who played independent baseball last season and signed with the Cardinals in February, has a 3-0 record with a 3.00 ERA in 30 innings out of the bullpen this season for Memphis. The right-hander has totaled 38 strikeouts to 22 walks this season for the Redbirds and posted a 1.20 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 221/3 innings across May and June.
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He did not pitch in Sunday’s game, which the Cardinals won 2-0, so he still awaits his MLB debut. He would become the first North American-born Cardinals pitcher 30 or older to make his MLB debut since then-32-year-old Kevin Ohme did so in 2003.
As a corresponding move, the Cardinals optioned Gordon Graceffo, who pitched 41/3 innings of one-run ball on Saturday, to Memphis. That was the longest relief appearance by a Cardinals pitcher in his MLB debut since John Martin worked seven innings in 1980.
“It’s good to get a fresh arm up here,†Marmol said before Sunday’s game. “Graceffo did a really nice job of doing exactly what we needed him to do. ... Him being able to finish that game with us not having to use another arm was important.â€
Bosiokovic’s journey to a major league roster is unique.
He was selected in the 19th round of the 2016 MLB draft and began his pro career as a first baseman and corner outfielder in the Colorado Rockies system before converting to a pitching role at the Low-A level in 2019.
“I had some serious bat-to-ball issues (and) eventually hit a wall,†Bosiokovic said. “I had a good arm from the outfield, and (the Rockies) liked me as a teammate and as a person in the organization, so they said either you can stay with us and pitch or you can try to find another job.
“It was an easy call to start pitching, and (I) just kind of ran with it as a second life.â€
Bosiokovic arrived in the Cardinals organization when they took him in the 2019 Rule 5 draft. The Cardinals sent him to Class AA Springfield (Missouri) to begin the 2021 campaign, where he posted a 6-3 record with a 4.28 ERA in 481/3 innings and earned a promotion to Triple-A Memphis. He closed the 2021 season there, compiling a 2.16 ERA in 81/3 innings.
The performance earned Bosiokovic an invitation to spring training in 2022, when he pitched deep into camp before being sent to back Memphis. An injury to his throwing arm halted his season after just 15 appearances and 132/3 innings, with a 5.27 ERA. Bosiokovic departed in free agency following the season and spent last season with an independent club — the Charleston Dirty Birds — and in the Venezuela Winter League before re-signing with the Cardinals organization before this season.
“I had a good camp (in 2022) and good relationships with everyone,†Bosiokovic said. “I felt pretty good going into that summer, and then obviously the injury bug happened and knocked everything for a loop, but I definitely felt good coming out of that camp. That’s kind of the reason why I wanted to sign back, too, because I had such good relationships and had been with some of the guys on the club for a couple years.â€
Bosiokovic will seek to provide relief for a bullpen that Marmol said is “running on fumes†following a taxing three-week stretch that included two bullpen games (June 19 and Wednesday) as well as limited length out of the starting rotation.
“Guys have gone hard,†Marmol said.
To make room for Bosiokovic on the 40-man roster, left-hander Kolton Ingram was designated for assignment. Ingram owns a 3-0 record with a 4.26 ERA in 251/3 innings at Memphis this season.
Extra bases
Pitcher Lance Lynn notched the 1,000th strikeout of his Cardinals career, against Noelvi Marte in the top of the second inning on Sunday at Busch Stadium. He became the sixth pitcher in franchise history to reach that mark, joining Bob Gibson, Adam Wainwright, Dizzy Dean, Chris Carpenter and Bob Forsch. Lynn finished with six strikeouts in six shutout innings, moving to 10 strikeouts shy shy of 2,000 for his career.
- Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar continued his rehab assignment with Class AA Springfield on Saturday night, drilling a solo home run as part of a 1-for-3 performance. He played seven innings in right field and came out of it “feeling good.†Nootbaar, who went on the injured list May 31 because of an oblique strain, was rested on Sunday. He is set to return to action with seven innings Monday night when the S-Cards face Northwest Arkansas in Springdale, Arkansas.
- After spraining his ankle in the midst of his recovery from offseason wrist surgery, outfielder Tommy Edman is set to take swings off the Trajekt pitching machine soon in an attempt to simulate at-bats. Marmol said Edman’s response in the next two days will paint a clearer picture of Edman’s path ahead.