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The ripple effect will be reducing the playing time of the younger players, such as Thomas Saggese and Nolan Gorman, who had their chance to capitalize.

鈥淲e鈥檝e got our everyday second baseman back,鈥� manager Oli Marmol said. 鈥淲e鈥檒l spell guys when needed. And same thing with Masyn (Winn at shortstop) if he needs a day. These are our guys. 鈥� Donnie is our everyday second baseman. He鈥檚 healthy, he plays.鈥�

Donovan returned from the 10-day injured list Friday about a month after a sprained toe and sore groin limited his movements on the field. The Cardinals also brought lefty John King back from his rehab assignment and 15-day IL to be in the bullpen Friday night. To make room on the active roster the Cardinals optioned infielder Jose Fermin and lefty Nick Raquet. A few years after leaving baseball for a job in finance, Raquet made his major-league debut this past week and pitched two scoreless innings of relief for the Cardinals in Seattle.

Saggese punctuated his series in Seattle with his first four-hit big-league game on the one-year anniversary of his big-league debut.

Since Donovan went on the IL after the game on Aug. 13, Saggese has been a regular in the infield with nearly 100 plate appearances in the past 24 games. In that time, he hit .250 with a .302 on-base percentage and .307 slugging percentage.

When center fielder Victor Scott II returned from the IL, the Cardinals kept rookie Nathan Church on the active roster and started a rotation of sorts for the outfielders. Alec Burleson, who returned from the IL in Seattle, is the everyday player with Lars Nootbaar starting almost every day and Jordan Walker, Church, and Scott filling in around those spots in a modified rotation.

For most of the season, the Cardinals have advertised 鈥渞unway鈥� for younger players and prioritized, when possibly, playing time to fill that promise.

The rotation in the outfield is the outgrowth of that.

With the infield, Donovan returns to starting at second and Arenado will be the starter at third, Marmol said. Saggese moves into a utility role that might get more playing time than the usual bench spot. As Winn aims to play through a slight meniscus tear in his right knee, the shortstop said he鈥檒l likely take a few more days off than he鈥檇 prefer. That opens up playing time at shortstop for Saggese.

Gorman, likewise, will find playing time where it鈥檚 available when Arenado returns.

Since the July 31 trade deadline, Gorman has been the Cardinals鈥� priority starter at third base. In that time, he鈥檚 hit .210 with a .312 on-base percentage and .370 slugging percentage for a .681 OPS. After some initial difficulties with throws from third base, Gorman has made strides defensively at the position he played the most growing up. He鈥檚 on pace for this third consecutive season of at least 400 plate appearances. Saggese is closing in on his first with at least 250 plate appearances in the majors. Runway length varies.

Arenado played third base Friday night at Class AA Springfield, and he could return to the lineup as early as Monday. That could give him, Donovan, Burleson, Winn and Willson Contreras the final 12 games remaining, and their first dozen games together in nearly two months.

As the Cardinals spiraled to a losing season two years ago, the opposite happened on the roster. Players with injuries were leaving it and starting their offseason recovery. This year, as the Cardinals opened the series in Milwaukee at 72-75 and four games out of a playoff spot, players are returning.

Marmol explained the reason in his office Friday.

鈥淚 like the mentality of our group right now,鈥� the manager said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e wanting to take a shot. And to some it might sound crazy because you鈥檙e 4 games out, but to this group they鈥檒l tell you they鈥檙e going to continue to take their shot until they can鈥檛.鈥�

Springfield clinches 2nd-half title, too

The Cardinals鈥� Class AA Springfield affiliate mixed hosting three big-leaguers on their rehab assignments with clinching another division title. The Springfield Cardinals claimed the Texas League鈥檚 North Division second-half title to go with their first-half title. It is the second time in the affiliate鈥檚 21-season history that it鈥檚 won both halves of the season and the first time since 2007, when Colby Rasmus led the S-Cards with 29 home runs and 69 extra-base hits. Jason Motte and Chris Perez 鈥� two future big-league closers 鈥� anchored the bullpen.

JJ Wetherholt led the charge for the first-half division title with a .300 average and an .891 OPS before a promotion to Class AAA Memphis. Catching prospect Leonardo Bernal has been with the S-Cards for 105 games, hitting .247 with 13 homers, 69 RBIs, and a .730 OPS. Joshua Baez has had a breakout season for the S-Cards with 13 homers in 76 games. Former first-round pick Chase Davis spent the entire summer in Springfield, Missouri, and hit .281 with a .392 on-base percentage in the second half.

Lefty Ixan Henderson, an eight-round draft pick in 2023, paces the rotation with a 2.59 ERA and 134 strikeouts in 132 innings over 25 starts.

Extra bases

Liam Doyle, the Cardinals鈥� first round pick this past July, is scheduled to make his Class AA debut Saturday for the S-Cards and could be a part of their playoff push. 鈥� The Cardinals released Garrett Hampson on Thursday after he cleared waivers, and the veteran utility fielder immediately became a free agent. 鈥� 51黑料an Michelle Smallmon, co-host of ESPN鈥檚 鈥淯nsportsmanlike,鈥� threw out a ceremonial first pitch before Friday鈥檚 game. She was in Wisconsin for the Packers鈥� game at Lambeau Field on Thursday night. 鈥� With an off day in Milwaukee, a group of players including JoJo Romero, Matt Svanson, Pedro Pages, Lars Nootbaar, and others used the opportunity to also attend that Packers game in Green Bay, Wisconsin.