St. Louis Cardinals call up OF Joey Butler, still no sign of Oscar Taveras

St. Louis Cardinals fans have to be scratching their heads, wondering when they’ll get to finally see their wunderkind Oscar Taveras playing with the big club.

The Cardinals passed over their top prospect in the minors once again this week, recalling right fielder Joe Butler from Triple-A Memphis, while sending Randal Grichuk down.

This move isn’t really a reflection on Taveras status or ability to play right now, according to Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, but more a way to give Grichuk some everyday playing time while keeping the bench depth solid in St. Louis by adding Butler.

The sudden awakening of the bat of Peter Bourjos complicated matters even further for Cards manager Mike Matheny.

“I was in favor of giving (Grichuk) an extensive opportunity in center field,” Miklasz writes, “but only because Matheny had reduced Bourjos to a non-factor. But now that Matheny has remembered Bourjos’ name, he needs to stay with him in the lineup for a while. Matheny can’t automatically park Bourjos in the dugout every time the opponent starts a righthanded hitter.”

It wouldn’t be surprising to see Taveras make his big debut at some point this season, but the team really wants him to be in a position to play every day when he gets the call. For now, there’s just no room at the inn.