St. Louis Cardinals SP Chris Carpenter DL-bound again

August 15, 2008 @ 11:34:33

By Keith Hernandez
Edited by Tim Heaney

The Associated Press reports the St. Louis Cardinals placed starting pitcher Chris Carpenter (shoulder) on the 15-day disabled list Friday, Aug. 15, with a strained pitching shoulder. The move is retroactive to Monday, Aug. 11.

To fill Carpenter's roster spot the Cardinals activated outfielder Brian Barton (hand), who had been sidelined since July 6 with a hand injury, from the disabled list.

Carpenter finds himself back on the shelf with a shoulder strain after undergoing reconstructive elbow surgery in July 2007. He had only made three starts in his return this year. Carpenter felt pain in his shoulder during his outing Sunday, Aug. 10, against the Chicago Cubs. He is expected to miss only one start with what the team is calling a right posterior shoulder strain.

In his three starts this season, Carpenter was fairly effective with a 1.88 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP in 14 1/3 innings pitched. He tallied a 0-1 record with four walks and six strikeouts.

The Cardinals already slated pitcher Brad Thompson to take Carpenter's spot in the rotation for the team's Aug. 15 contest. Thompson is 4-2 with a 4.34 ERA and a WHIP of 1.42 this year. He has notched 26 strikeouts and 16 walks in 45 2/3 innings with the team. Of his 19 appearances this season he has started only three games; as a starter, he's 1-1 with a 2.87 ERA.

Turning to the fantasy impact of this situation, Carpenter owners can breathe a sigh of relief that this latest injury is not related to his surgically repaired right elbow. Keeping this in mind, owners should look to stash him on a DL spot or on the bench if they do not have the room. Carpenter will be eligible to return to the active roster Aug. 26. When he's activated, though, he might not last the rest of the season. Fantasy owners should make backup plans in case he is ineffective in his return.

Thompson likely will be filling in on the team's starting rotation for one spot start. His fantasy value remains minimal. If you are desperate he could be picked up in NL-only setups or deep leagues for a spot start; Aug. 15 he matches up against the Cincinnati Reds. 

Barton only has worth in deep NL-only setups.

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Keith Hernandez

Keith, an editor with KFFL, joined the team as a Hot off the Wire analyst in 2008 and has been playing fantasy sports since 2005. He is involved in MLB, NFL and NASCAR content. He graduated from the University of California-San Diego in 2005 with a B.A. in Communications and was a four-year starter as a member of the baseball program.

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