ST. LOUIS -- After two months adhering to a catching rotation that the Cardinals maintained coalesced into a number of benefits for the club’s early-season success, catcher Jimmy Crooks finally became impossible to ignore.
St. Louis announced a series of roster moves on Friday afternoon before the series opener against the Cubs at Busch Stadium, recalling Crooks and selecting the contract of outfielder Nelson Velázquez from Triple-A Memphis.
Catcher Yohel Pozo and infielder César Prieto were optioned to Memphis in corresponding moves.
While Crooks, ranked as the Cardinals' No. 7 prospect by MLB Pipeline, slots into Pozo’s roster spot, manager Oliver Marmol made it clear that Crooks will take on far more than Pozo’s role.
“Crooks will have a decent amount of catching,” Marmol said. “He’s going to definitely play, absolutely.”
So, with Crooks featuring more prominently defensively, it will inevitably mean a shift to the way the Cards manage their rotation behind the plate. The rhythm at the backstop position had previously seen Ivan Herrera catching starters Andre Pallante and Michael McGreevy, while Pedro Pagés handled the other 60 percent of the pitching rotation.
The addition of Crooks means that will no longer be the case.
“We’d like to keep Herrera to -- if you’re looking at the five-man rotation, catching the two guys -- our preference would be that it lines up with the guys that he's continuing to catch,” Marmol said. “But from a matchup standpoint, we have a left-handed [hitting] catcher that we’ll mix and match there with Jimmy catching the other two and then [Pagés], depending on how it lines up.
“If he can spell Herrera against a lefty, depending on how it works out, where we don't have to catch Herrera back to back, then [Pagés] could catch and Herrera could DH, and we can continue to make sure that one of the first filters for our decision-making is keeping Herrera healthy and in the lineup every day.”
The timing of Friday’s shakeup comes as the Cardinals seek additional offensive contributions following a series in Milwaukee where St. Louis mustered just two runs across three games.
It also coincides with Crooks elevating his game in the Minors. He’s maintained his robust power numbers while cutting down on the strikeouts to post a 1.018 OPS in May, all while answering the bell in other key aspects of the catching position.
“There’s been a consistency to his play down there,” Marmol said. “At some point, you’ve got to create an opportunity for him and a long enough one that is meaningful for evaluation.”
Crooks said that his stint in St. Louis last season helped open his eyes to the demands of a catcher at the Major League level, allowing him to cater his preparation toward hitting the marks in that area of his game.
“Taking care of the scouting reports,” Crooks said. “That's a big thing that I learned last year. Do my homework so that -- you know, pitchers have a high stress job as it is. So I'm just trying to limit that a little bit. Anything I can do to keep them calm, in a sense. Do my homework, so they can trust me, and then I can trust them, too.”
Crooks’ numbers at the plate jump off the page. But because of the way the Cardinals value Pagés’ presence behind the dish, it’s clear that Crooks didn’t land on the Major League roster by virtue of his bat alone.
“He’s done a ton of work in that area,” Marmol said of Crooks’ progress behind the plate. “The reports from Triple-A have been phenomenal as far as how he carries out the pitchers' meetings and his input in all of it. His preparation going into it has been elite. We feel really good about where that stands and it being up to par with what’s needed at this level, for sure.”
The arrival of Velázquez shouldn’t be lost in Friday’s roster news. After missing out on a big league promotion following a standout Spring Training, the right-handed slugger struggled out of the gates in Memphis before turning up the heat to compile a .308/.418/.600 slash line with five home runs in May.
Velázquez will be used against left-handed starters and as a weapon off the bench against lefty relievers.
“Thump,” Marmol said with a smile, when asked what Velázquez brings to the Cardinals’ roster.
The 27-year-old was in Friday’s lineup as the designated hitter and batting cleanup with Cubs lefty Shota Imanaga starting the series opener.