Envisioning Martinez as starter, Cards recall Marte

KANSAS CITY -- By sending right-hander Carlos Martinez to Triple-A Memphis and recalling right-hander Victor Marte on Monday, the Cardinals are paving the way for Martinez to work as a starting pitcher.

"We need to get him ready to start," manager Mike Matheny said. "We see him in the future as being a starter. He did a nice job for us coming out of the bullpen, but with the situation we've been having here with our rotation, he's a guy we'd like to have built up to use as an option later."

Martinez made seven relief appearances for the Cardinals following his May 3 promotion and struck out nine batters in eight innings, allowing four earned runs.

"It's good for him to see, coming straight out of Double-A, that his stuff plays to this level and he can get guys out," Matheny said. "He has also seen that he can get hit. It's a great reminder that he has work to do, and we sent him back with a laundry list of things to work on. Specifically, his secondary pitches and locating his fastball. He has to use the sinker and the four-seamer effectively, because he's not just going to be able to overpower guys."

Marte will attempt to provide a boost to the Cardinals bullpen, where he made 48 appearances a year ago, going 3-2 with a 4.91 ERA.

He was 1-0 with a 2.78 earned run average in 20 games for Memphis this season, fanning 23 in 22 1/3 innings. He had a team-leading 10 saves, which ranked fourth in the Pacific Coast League.