Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
When closer Jason Motte went on the disabled list toward the end of spring training due to elbow soreness, fans feared the worst. On Tuesday, their fears were confirmed, as the St. Louis Cardinals finally decided to pull the plug on Motte’s rehab and sent the 30-year-old right-hander under the knife.
Motte underwent successful Tommy John surgery this morning to replace the ligament in his right elbow, thus ending any chances he had of returning in the 2013 season.
The Cardinals closing situation has been a roller coaster so far this season. Mitchell Boggs won the job during the preseason, but he faltered once the regular season began. Boggs, who was ultimately put out of his misery and sent back down to the minors last week, was 0-2 with a 12.66 ERA in 14 games. He allowed 29 baserunners in just 10 2/3 innings.
Edward Mujica took over as the Cardinals’ ninth inning option in mid April, and has performed brilliantly thus far. He’s saved eight games already (without blowing any), while posting a 2.08 ERA. Mujica has shown excellent control as well, allowing just one walk and striking out 13 batters in 13 innings.
The position is stabilized for now, but losing Motte will hurt in the long term. Coming into camp, the Cardinals were counting on Mujica and Boggs to bridge the gap between the seventh and ninth; two months later, neither is available for that role. This means they’ll be relying heavily on the young arm of Trevor Rosenthal moving forward—a risk that they weren’t expecting to take so soon.
(JM Catellier is the author of the book Fixing Baseball, a guide to restructuring the Hall of Fame. Follow him on Twitter: @FixingBaseball and Facebook, and check out his site: www.fixingbaseball.com)
