Central STL News

The St. Louis Cardinals have placed center fielder Victor Scott II on the 10-day injured list after he sprained his left ankle during Saturday’s game against the New York Yankees. The injury occurred when Scott attempted to scale the wall in an effort to catch a home run hit by Aaron Judge in the third inning. Despite staying in the game and making a notable catch later, Scott exited after experiencing pain while batting.

Scott underwent an MRI on Saturday night, which showed no structural damage. He expressed optimism about returning once swelling and soreness decrease, stating his hope to come back at the end of his IL stint.

Scott has been a key defensive player for the Cardinals this season, ranking tied for fifth in Major League Baseball with 16 Outs Above Average and third among all center fielders. Offensively, he has posted a .223 batting average with five home runs, 35 RBIs, and 31 stolen bases in 33 attempts—also tying him for fifth in MLB steals.

With other players such as Willson Contreras and Brendan Donovan already sidelined due to injuries, the Cardinals promoted outfielder Nathan Church from Triple-A Memphis for his Major League debut. Church is ranked as the club's No. 14 prospect and was selected in the 11th round of the 2022 MLB Draft.

Church began this season at Single-A Palm Beach as he recovered from a leg injury before advancing through Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis. In Double-A, he hit .336 with seven doubles, one triple, and six home runs over 29 games. He continued similar production at Triple-A Memphis with a .335 average across 53 games.

Church learned of his promotion late Saturday night from Memphis manager Ben Johnson and traveled early Sunday morning to join the team in St. Louis.

“Super exciting,” said Church about receiving news of his call-up. “Ben Johnson called me at 11 o’clock and said, ‘Hey, you’re going to The Show.’ So it was pretty cool. My mom and dad, I called them first. My mom had a little bit of tears of joy. So it was a good time.”

Church started Sunday’s game against the Yankees batting ninth and playing center field. He is now the third Cardinal to make his MLB debut this season, following Andre Granillo and Matt Svanson.