The St. Louis Cardinals announced Tuesday that they were placing recently acquired reliever Brian Fuentes on the restricted list, and Derrick Goold and Rick Hummel reported soon after that John Mozeliak, at least, assumed this was the end both of Fuentes's season and his career with the Cardinals. In his place the Cardinals have recalled Trevor Rosenthal, who allowed two runs and struck out three in four innings back in July.
Rosenthal, 22, emerged as a surprise bullpen option after three solid months in the Springfield Cardinals rotation following an aggressive promotion to AA; between his demotion and his return Tuesday he made two starts with AAA Memphis, indicating that the Cardinals still view the right-hander, who features a high-90s fastball, as a starter long-term.
The veteran left-hander's departure cements the bullpen job of Barret Browning, who followed a strange path to the big leagues even as the Cardinals were pursuing Fuentes. He's struggled after a hot start, but the Cardinals have had trouble all year finding a second option behind Marc Rzepczynski.
The Cardinals have had Fuentes in their sights for years, ever since he was a highly touted free agent in 2009; his Cardinals career appears to have ended with six games and five innings pitched.