ST. LOUIS -- The Cardinals continued their pitching carousel on Wednesday by selecting the contract of right-hander Luis Gastelum from Triple-A Memphis.
The No. 21 prospect within the Cardinals organization, according to MLB Pipeline, made his MLB debut in the 5-1 win over the Brewers, taking over for Michael McGreevy in the seventh inning.
While the runner he inherited scored, he was able to get the final two outs of the frame.
“Probably the calmest I've seen someone when I hand them the ball for the first time, and we talked about it before the game, this is a guy that's not going to scare,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “He likes those moments and probably not the easiest situation to be put in, but did a nice job.”
Gastelum admitted that he did have some nerves, even if he didn’t show it.
“I’m not going to lie, my heartbeat was really fast, but at the same time, I was under control and calm,” Gastelum said through an interpreter.
His promotion is the latest in a flurry of moves the club has made in recent days as it tries to navigate a rugged stretch of 14 games in 13 days heading into the All-Star break.
Gastelum, 24, is 7-1 with a 2.27 ERA in 36 appearances at Memphis. He has three saves and 49 strikeouts in 43 2/3 innings.
“It's always been the same -- attacking the hitters, being aggressive against the hitters and trying to give my best -- and that's what I can say to the fans over here, that I expect that I am always going to give my best to the team,” Gastelum said before the game.
Gastelum had not been scored upon over his previous 18 appearances going back to May 21. He has made eight appearances of four or more outs during that stretch.
“I just know being able to lay eyes on him over the past couple Spring Trainings, just there's something about him I really, really like, and it's the fact that he is not going to scare,” Marmol said. “He's going to give you everything he's got, and I don't think there's going to be a moment too big for him, and that's a cool trait to be recognized for.”
Gastelum played for Team Mexico in the World Baseball Classic.
“It gave me a lot of experience facing those teams, playing in front of a lot of people,” Gastelum said. “I think that's going to help me a lot to give me experience to come here and be better for my career.”
The Cardinals designated left-hander Jared Shuster for assignment to make room for Gastelum on the team’s 40-man roster. Shuster allowed seven runs in 1 1/3 innings in the Cardinals’ 10-2 loss to the Brewers on Tuesday night in the second game of a doubleheader.
The Cardinals also returned right-hander Hunter Dobbins to Memphis. Dobbins was appointed the team’s 27th man for Tuesday’s twin bill against Milwaukee.