CHICAGO — During his second at-bat Saturday, several innings before his teammates staged their comeback, center fielder Michael Siani felt a ripple along his right side that could alter the Cardinals’ stability in the outfield just days after they asserted it.
Siani left Wrigley Field on Saturday night to have an MRI taken of his right torso and determine the severity of oblique tightness and pain that ended his game.
Less than a week after the Cardinals traded two center fielders in separate deals at the deadline, they are now uncertain about Siani’s availability for the coming week, if not longer. John Mozeliak, president of baseball operations, said the team’s decision was “TBD†based on the results of Siani’s scan, the complete scope of which may not be known until Sunday morning. The Cardinals most likely choice will be to prioritize defense at the position and bring back their opening day center fielder, prospect Victor Scott II.Â
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Scott was kept out of the lineup Saturday night for the Class AAA Redbirds in preparation for the possible promotion.
Two members of the current roster — newly added Tommy Pham and Lars Nootbaar — have also played center field extensively and would free up a spot on the bench to add a right-handed bat, which the Cardinals wanted Pham to be. Nootbaar replaced Siani in the lineup just in time to deliver a game-winning sacrifice fly Saturday against the Cubs that scored Pham from third for a 5-4 victory.
Siani said he “felt it grab†during his fifth inning strikeout. He remained in the game to take an at-bat in the seventh inning, and he also struck out. The rookie center fielder finished 0 for 3 with three strikeouts to end his hitting streak at 12 games.
A gifted fielder, Siani entered Saturday’s game as one of the leading center fielders based on advanced metrics. He had plus-10 Defensive Runs Saved, per Sports Info Solutions, and that puts him near the top five at his position. Defense keeps him in the lineup, but he’s increasingly added some dimensions offensively to lengthen the Cardinals’ lineup. He hits .260 overall with a .329 slugging percentage. During his 12-game hitting streak, Siani hit .432 (16 for 37) with a .488 on-base percentage and a .947 OPS.
He also stole all four bases he attempted to swipe.
“You watch Siani on the day to day, and there’s really added value to his game,†manager Oliver Marmol said early Saturday before the injury. “Longer stretches you get to see the impact of it.â€
Siani has secured himself so much playing time and so much value for his defense that the Cardinals hinged both of their deadline deals around center fielders. To land pitcher Erick Fedde and Tommy Pham in a three-team deal, the Cardinals traded the player they advertised as their everyday center fielder for 2024 — Tommy Edman. In the closing moments before the deadline, the Cardinals sent Dylan Carlson to Tampa Bay for reliever Shawn Armstrong. Carlson won the opening day job in center before an injury on the final day of spring training.
Pham started often for the White Sox in center field, and Nootbaar has spelled Siani several times in center.
Nootbaar missed more than a month with an oblique strain earlier this season, and if Siani is diagnosed with a similar injury and a similar recovery, the Cardinals will look to their minors for assistance, either on the bench or for the outfield. One of the best defenders in the organization and one of the fastest baserunners, Scott is also on a hot streak for Memphis. In his previous seven games he’s 10 for 27 with two home runs and two steals.
Since arriving via trade, Pham has hit his way into more playing time than initially advertised — and with him in the lineup, he’s not the right-handed bat off the bench. Although less likely to happen depending on Siani's length of absence, the Cardinals could turn to Jordan Walker or Luken Baker to add that element. Walker has blistered several hits at 110-mph or harder during the Redbirds’ current road series. Since his return to the minors 70 games ago, Walker has hit .243 with a .391 slugging percentage.
Baker has 27 homers and a .865 OPS for Memphis, and this season he’s hitting .286 against lefties with a .695 slugging percentage.
Although he’s not on the 40-man roster and that plays into any discussion for a promotion, Matt Koperniak has had an impressive season with a .319 average, a .370 on-base percentage, and a .887 OPS in 86 games. The left handed-hitting outfielder also has 14 homers.
Koperniak, Walker, and Baker all started for Memphis on Saturday.
Stealing time
When Cubs infielder Nico Hoerner stole second base in the fourth inning Saturday, it was the 100th steal allowed this season by the Cardinals. Since the All-Star break, opponents have gone 16 for 19 in steal attempts, and that includes the six stolen by the Nationals in one game.
The 100 steals match last year’s total allowed for the entire season and put opponents on pace for one of the highest waves of thefts against the Cardinals since the mid-1990s.
The uptick a year ago came during a year when Major League Baseball goosed the running game by increasing the size of the bases and decreasing the number of times a pitcher could throw over to first base. The 100 steals allowed this year and last are the most by the Cardinals since 1997, when opponents stole 134 bases. The Cardinals haven’t had back-to-back seasons allowing at least 100 stolen bases since the 1980s.
The most steals allowed in the 2000s before this year and last was 86 in 2002, and during the Yadier Molina era, when so few teams even tried, the high was 85 in 2016.
Extra bases
Masyn Winn’s two hits Friday moved him into the lead for all rookies in the majors with 108. The last Cardinals rookie to lead the majors in hits was Vince Coleman in 1985, according to Elias research. Carlson came one hit shy of doing so in 2021, and Albert Pujols finished behind Ichiro Suzuki in 2001. … The win Saturday assured the Cardinals a winning record against the Cubs for the season for the 16th time since 2000.