1:00pm: Fermín has been officially recalled with Edman placed on the 10-day IL in a corresponding move due to right wrist inflammation. It’s unclear how long Edman is expected to be out but next week’s All-Star break could mean he only misses a handful of games.
9:13am: Infielder José Fermín is expected to join the Cardinals in Chicago ahead of their series against the White Sox this weekend, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Fermín is already on the 40-man roster but will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game.
Now 24, Fermín was an international signing of the Guardians but came over to the Cardinals in November. The Guards had a roster crunch prior to the Rule 5 draft last year and made a few trades that month, sending Nolan Jones to the Rockies, Carlos Vargas to the Diamondbacks and Fermín to the Cards.
Fermín’s reputation as a prospect is generally one of a high-contact, low-power infielder. He’s only struck out in 10.7% of his minor league plate appearances, a rate less than half of the 22.7% major league average here in 2023. But he’s also only hit 24 home runs in his 1,758 trips to the plate. He’s generally considered a strong enough defender to play shortstop while also spending some time at second and third base.
Coming into this season, Fermin would have competed for a bench spot for the Cards but he suffered a strained quadriceps during Spring Training and was shut down, eliminating his chances of cracking the Opening Day roster. He didn’t get into a minor league game until early June and has only suited up for 17 contests so far this year, hitting .180/.296/.328 in that small sample.
The Cardinals are known to value versatility in their players and are likely attracted to his ability to provide quality defense at multiple infield positions, especially since the club has been dealing with a few injuries related to their infield depth of late. Tommy Edman has been dealing with wrist soreness lately and though an MRI showed no structural damage, per Goold, Edman didn’t start the past two games. Brendan Donovan also missed some time recently with arm soreness and has been serving as the designated hitter since then. Both of those players have been bumped to the outfield as Paul DeJong and Nolan Gorman handle the middle infield most days, but their nagging injuries could be enough to compel the Cards to add another bench player with some infield capabilities. The corresponding move will perhaps shed some more light on the situation later today.