ST. LOUIS -- With Willson Contreras (right foot contusion) and Brendan Donovan (left foot/groin soreness) already out for days, the short-handed Cardinals had no choice other than to make a roster move when speedy center fielder Victor Scott II sprained his left ankle.
When Scott was placed on the 10-day injured list on Sunday, the Cardinals promoted Triple-A outfielder Nathan Church (the club's No. 14 prospect) for his MLB debut. Scott told MLB.com that his MRI on Saturday night revealed no structural damage and he hopes after the swelling and soreness subside he can return at the end of the 10-day stint on the IL.
Scott, who is tied for fifth in MLB with 16 Outs Above Average and third among all center fielders, injured his left ankle in Saturday’s 12-8 loss to the Yankees when he tried scaling the wall in hopes of robbing a solo home run off the bat of New York slugger Aaron Judge in the third inning. Upon landing, Scott sprained his left ankle.
Scott stayed in the game and made a spectacular running catch on a Ryan McMahon drive into the left-center gap in the fifth inning. However, he left the game in the bottom of the sixth after he felt pain in his ankle while at bat during the bottom of the fourth inning. For the season, Scott has slashed .223/.311/.312 with five home runs and 35 RBIs. He has stolen 31 bases in 33 attempts, tying him for fifth in MLB in steals.
Church, an 11th-round pick by the Cardinals in the 2022 MLB Draft, has had his best all-around season in the Minor Leagues to earn an MLB promotion. He started the season at Single-A Palm Beach while bouncing back from a leg injury, then hit .336 with seven doubles, one triple and six homers in 29 games at Double-A Springfield. He matched that production in 53 games with Triple-A Memphis, hitting .335 with 11 doubles, four triples and seven homers.
Church, who played collegiately at UC Irvine with Cardinals pitcher Andre Pallante, said he got a call from Memphis manager Ben Johnson on Saturday night and boarded a plane in Charlotte at 7 a.m. bound for St. Louis and the big leagues.
“Super exciting,” said Church, who is a stellar defender with a plus throwing arm. “Ben Johnson called me at 11 o’clock and said, ‘Hey, you’re going to The Show.’ So it was pretty cool. My mom and dad, I called them first. My mom had a little bit of tears of joy. So it was a good time.”
Church was batting ninth and playing center field on Sunday vs. the Yankees. He is the third Cardinal to make his MLB debut this season, joining Andre Granillo and Matt Svanson.