St. Louis Cardinals -- 2025 and trying to contend

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Record: 16-14, 3rd, 5.5 GB Chicago Cubs

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Record: 17-14, 3rd, 5.5 GB Chicago Cubs

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Record: 17-15, 3rd, 5.5 GB Chicago Cubs

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Record: 17-16, 3rd, 7 GB Chicago Cubs

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The St. Louis Cardinals have announced the signing of free-agent pitcher Mauricio Recinos to a one-year contract for $4.6 million.
Recinos, 26, had just been made available by his team in the Mexican League.
In his last season, Recinos went 11-4 with a 3.65 ERA in 21 starts.
For his career, he owns a 45-15 mark in 104 games/66 starts with a 3.41 ERA.
Recinos will make some starts at AAA Memphis, while the Cardinals decide what they are going to do with a couple of struggling starters they have in their current rotation.

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The St. Louis Cardinals have recalled shortstop Jiu-Ling Chua and outfielder Kerry Carpenter from AAA Memphis, where both were on injury rehab assignments.
Infielders Tai Peete and Raul Guzman have been sent down to the Redbirds.
An off-season signing out of Taiwan, Chua didn't make it through the season opener before suffering an ankle injury.
He got in just one at bat, striking out, before he got hurt.
During his time at Memphis, Chua got into four games during which he hit .500 with two home runs and seven RBIs.
Carpenter suffered a concussion during a 3-2 loss to Washington on April 20.
At the point, he had played in nine games/seven starts and hit .250 with one home runs and four RBIs.
At Memphis, Carpenter played in four games/three starts and hit .214 with one home run and two RBIs.
Peete, 24, played in eight games while with the Cardinals and hit .192 with one RBI.
The 27-year-old Guzman played in just one game and hit .333 with a solo home run.

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Record: 18-16, 3rd, 7 GB Chicago Cubs

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Record: 18-17, 3rd, 8 GB Chicago Cubs

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MLB news: May 13 -- Week 6 - Awards and standings

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The St. Louis Cardinals have made a change at hitting coach hiring Chase Merkerson and letting Bill Mueller go.
Mueller, 59, joined the team during the 2029 season and helped them make the playoffs.
But the team never hit for average -- checking in at a .229 clip over 122 games and it got worse this season as after 35 games they are hitting .208 (15th).
Specializing in helping power hitters, that has not translated either.
The Cardinals 45 home runs rank sixth in the NL, but many of their players are well off their power numbers of a year ago.
Merkerson, 62, has never worked at the major-league level before but he did spent two seasons with the Cardinals in their Dominican Summer League site.

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The St. Louis Cardinals top prospect Vitale Rastelli got a rough introduction to major league baseball and has been sent back to AAA Memphis.
Called up due to an injury to starting center fielder Jung-hoo Lee, Rastelli, 21, got the chance to start 16 games yet hit just .140 with no home runs and two RBIs.
Getting called from Memphis is 35-year-old outfielder Myles Straw.
A defensive specialist, Straw played in 13 games/four starts for the Redbirds and hit .240 with one RBI.
Over the course of his career, Straw has played in 1,012 games/788 starts in the majors.
During that time he has hit .224 with nine home runs and 221 RBIs.

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Record: 19-17, 3rd, 7.5 GB Chicago Cubs

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The St. Louis Cardinals have placed third baseman Wes Kath on the 10-day injured list after he suffered a back injury in a 9-1 win over Miami on May 14.
Kath, 27, has hit .241 with nine home runs and 13 RBIs in 32 games to open the 2030 season.
He is expected to miss up to four weeks.
Peete had just been sent back to AAA Memphis after a stint with the big-league team.
In eight games, he hit .192 with one RBI.

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Record: 19-18, 2nd, 8.5 GB Chicago Cubs

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St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Roansy Contreras and Miami outfielder Rodolfo Jaurequi have been suspended after a bench-clearing brawl during the second inning of the Marlins' 2-1 11-inning win at Busch Stadium on May 15.
Contreras hit Jaurequi with a pitch after giving up a home run to the Marlins' Ronald Hernandez, which caused both dugouts to pour onto the field.
Contreras will sit for six games. Jaurequi will be out for three.

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Record: 19-19, 3rd, 9 GB Chicago Cubs

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Record: 19-20, 3rd, 10 GB Chicago Cubs

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Record: 20-20, 3rd, 10 GB Chicago Cubs

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Record: 20-21, 3rd, 11 GB Chicago Cubs

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The St. Louis Cardinals have acquired 24-year-old outfielder Ramiro Campos in exchange for 29-year-old starting pitcher Roansy Contreras and 29-year-old outfielder/infielder Ceddane Rafaela.
Looking to boost a struggling offense, the Cardinals gave up a pitcher they acquired in the offseason to improve the top of their pitching staff and a versatile player who has not performed to expectations since being acquired from Baltimore prior to the 2029 season.
This season, Campos has played in 41 games/38 starters and hit .261 with 10 home runs and 31 RBIs.
The 2029 American League Rookie of the Year, Campos hit .277 with 46 home runs and 104 RBIs in 2029 for the White Sox.
The Cardinals acquired Contreras in the offseason from the Washington Nationals -- where he was coming off a 19-7, 3.32 ERA -- hoping he could combine with David Matos to form a strong top of the rotation.
Contreras just could not make it work going 0-4 with a 7.65 ERA in eight starts with just one quality start.
In his last game, he gave up a second-inning home run and followed that up by hitting the next batter and being ejected from the game.
Rafaela had a decent 2029 season in his first year in St. Louis -- hitting .243 with 25 home runs and 88 RBIs in 140 games/136 starts -- but 2030 has been a different story.
In 36 games/34 starts, Rafaela has hit just .168 with four home runs and 16 RBIs.