St. Louis Cardinals Roster
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St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Jack Flaherty (shoulder) threw to hitters on Tuesday, Derrick S. Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. This was the first time Flaherty threw with batters since being sidelined on August 24 with a right shoulder strain. The 25-year-old right-hander has a 9-2 record on the season with a 3.03 ERA and 81:24 strikeout-to-walk ratio. St. Louis will likely bring Flaherty back into the mix slowly due to the injury, so fantasy managers should stash him until he can log serious innings.
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright worked around some base runners to end up with another quality start. Pitching on Saturday against the San Diego Padres, Wainwright pitched six innings, allowing just two runs on seven hits. He did not issue a walk and struck out two. While it wasn't "Waino" at his best, he showed how excellent he is as a pitcher, taking a day where he didn't have his best stuff and holding a powerful Padres lineup to just two runs. The 40-year-old has a 2.89 ERA this season.
St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado helped lead the team to an 11-4 victory over the New York Mets on Wednesday. He went 2-for-4 with a home run, a walk and two RBI in the game. The home run was his 32nd of the year. Arenado is in the midst of a bit of a hot streak at the plate. He's riding a five-game hitting streak that has included three home runs, a triple and eight RBI. He's slashing .256/.311/.503 over 141 games on the year with 99 RBI and 72 runs to go along with his 32 home runs. We'll see if he's able to stay hot and close the year out strong.
Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Miami Marlins, according to MLB.com. It's a rare day off for the rookie, who has started the past 18 days. Garcia is slashing .231/.271/.407 with five home runs over 56 games. The power hasn't quite shown up yet after smacking 13 HRs in 37 Triple-A contests the year. Jordy Mercer will get the start at second and bat seventh against the left-handed Trevor Rogers. Mercer has a .683 OPS across 38 games this season but is hitting .306 against lefties and could be a deep league streaming option.
St. Louis Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter said that he would like to continue his playing career into the 2022 season. The 35-year-old versatile infielder has struggled for several years now, putting up a disappointing .204/.325/.348 line since the start of the 2019 season. The Cardinals have an $18.5 million option on Carpenter for next year, which they should easily decline (instead paying his $2 million buyout). Carpenter could find another team to play for next year, but he hasn't been worth starting in any fantasy formats for a while now.