St. Louis Cardinals Jedd Gyorko Becomes Draftable Shortstop
By Bill Pivetz
The St. Louis Cardinals with be without their all-star shortstop for close to three months. As a result, Jedd Gyorko will likely be the replacement.
Another injury strikes.
The St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Jhonny Peralta left camp today with an apparent injury to his left hand, according to Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The team gave an early diagnosis of a torn left thumb ligament and he will miss two to three months. He’s heading back to St. Louis for a second opinion.
If the reports are accurate, this is a big blow to an already-struggling Cardinals lineup. The team finished 24th in runs scored, 25th in home runs, and 23rd in slugging percentage. In 155 games last season, Peralta hit .275/.334/.411 with 17 home runs. That kind of production will be hard for the Cardinals to replace, especially on such short notice.
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Looking forward, the replacement options are not that exciting, from a fantasy perspective.
The Cardinals acquired San Diego Padres infielder Jedd Gyorko this offseason. He will compete with Greg Garcia and Aledmys Diaz for the starting shortstop job in camp. Gyorko did not play much shortstop last season, just 29 games. On the season, he played in just 128 games, hitting 16 home runs, 57 RBI and .247.
Diaz is someone to keep an eye on in deeper leagues. Those close to the Cardinals clubhouse have been talking him up as a better option than Gyorko.
@SultanofStat Keep an eye on Diaz. Beat writers have been talking him up since the end of last year.
— Mike Bloodworth (@mikebloodworth) March 8, 2016
Diaz split time between Double- and Triple-A last season. In 116 games, he had 118 hits, 13 home runs, 52 RBI and .278. He had 67 strikeouts and 35 walks with a .339 on-base percentage. It definitely looks like he is the better option than Gyorko at the plate for the Cardinals.
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The timing of this injury could not be any worse for the Cardinals. Not just because of how close to Opening Day we are, but the lack off free-agent options available to them. The biggest name, Ian Desmond, was recently signed by the Texas Rangers. There are other teams with excess infielders, so let’s see if they make a trade.
In the mean time, look for Jedd Gyorko and Diaz to be the top-two names competing for the job.