No team, least of all the bullpen-challenged St. Louis Cardinals, wants to hear about a shoulder injury and their top young pitchers in the same breath, but it appears that Eduardo Sanchez will spend at least 15 days on the so-named disabled list after what the club is calling a "mild shoulder strain" left the flamethrower with a sub-90s fastball in his last outing. Without Sanchez the club will have a hard time rationing innings for Mitchell Boggs, Jason Motte, and closer Fernando Salas, the remainder of the young group of pitchers who's helped the Cardinals recover from Ryan Franklin's disastrous fall from closer grace.
The Cardinals didn't immediately replace Sanchez in their bullpen; his roster spot went to returning slugger Matt Holliday, who homered in the Cardinals loss Thursday night. Unless they go outside the organization for help the nearest right-handed reliever in AAA Memphis is Jess Todd, who returned to the Cardinals on waivers this year after being traded with Chris Perez for Mark DeRosa in 2009.