An injury to their starting center fielder and a truncated bench due to injuries elsewhere prompted the Cardinals to promote one of their rising prospects and throw him immediately into the starting lineup.
Nathan Church, a former 11th-round pick, is set to join the Cardinals on Sunday morning and start in center for the series finale against the New York Yankees.
He will bat ninth.
Victor Scott II sprained his left ankle trying to rob a home run from Aaron Judge on Saturday night, and the Cardinals placed him on the 10-day injured list. He is expected to return at the end of that stretch, the Cardinals said. The Cardinals already had Brendan Donovan (toe, leg) and Willson Contreras (bruised foot) on the bench but unavailable for the first two games of the series.
Neither of them are in the lineup Sunday, though Willson Contreras hopes to be available off the bench.
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Manager Oli Marmol said late Saturday the team could not try to survive another game with so few options on the bench.
In addition to Church replacing Scott on the active roster, the Cardinals promoted Anthony Veneziano to the majors from Class AAA and optioned right-hander Roddery Munoz to the Redbirds. Veneziano, picked up of waivers recently from Miami, will give the Cardinals the second lefty in the bullpen they've been missing for more than a week.
Church, 25, will make his major-league debut and appear at his fourth level of the organization in 2025. Overall, he's hit .319 with a .386 on-base percentage and a .524 slugging percentage for a .910 OPS. He has 13 home runs and 50 RBIs in 86 games. He earned a promotion from Class AA Springfield to Class AAA Memphis early in the year and since has hit .335 for the Triple-A Redbirds with a .521 slugging percentage and a .921 OPS.
He has seven homers for Memphis to go with 30 RBIs and 43 runs.
The Cardinals' 11th-round pick in 2022 out of UC-Irvine, Church is a left-handed hitter who can play all three outfield positions. He was due to be protected on the 40-player roster this winter to avoid losing him in the Rule 5 draft.
Church was expected to come to spring training in 2026 and compete for a role with the major-league team.Â
Baseball America considers him the best defensive center fielder in the Cardinals' organization below the major-league level.
He will wear No. 27.
Veneziano will wear no. 67.
Veneziano, 27, pitched three games and four innings for Memphis and did not allow a run. He appeared in 10 games with the Marlins this season and was 1-0 with a 3.10 ERA before being made available on waivers.
The Cardinals did not need to make a 40-player roster move to clear a spot for Church. Following the trade deadline they had spots open.
With Brendan Donovan and Willson Contreras also injured but not on the IL, Cardinals discussed late Saturday how to reinforce roster after 12-8 loss to Yankees
Masyn Winn's home run in the second gives Cardinals a three-run that starter Sonny Gray cannot hold, as he allows six in a 12-8 loss to the visiting Yankees.
A four-run lead by the end of the third, including a two-run homer by Jazz Chisholm Jr., is enough for Yankees to edge the host Cardinals, 4-3.
