The Cardinals have traded 29-year old righty reliever Andrew Brown to the Nationals for future considerations. Brown has pitched in 5 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball this season and he is 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP. He last pitched in the majors in 2008 with the A’s as he has been recovering from surgery since. With his health in mind this was probably a good trade for both teams as it gives Brown a better chance at the majors while the Cardinals get something for him.

The Cardinals have placed 31-year old righty starting pitcher Kyle Lohse on the 15-day disabled list with a sore right forearm. Lohse has a condition that will likely cause him to either undergo season ending surgery or he could possibly come back as a reliever. Lohse has started 9 games for the Cardinals this season and he is 1-4 with a 5.89 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP. You could tell that something was wrong with Lohse as he has given up 63 hits in 47 1/3 innings. 24-year old righty reliever Fernando Salas has been recalled from AAA to replace Lohse on the pitching staff. Salas has pitched in 19 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball this year and he is 1-0 with 7 saves, a 3.38 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. He has only walked 4 batters while whiffing 19 in only 18 2/3 innings showing that he is aggressive in the strike zone. Salas has now pitched in 176 games (6 starts) in his minor league career in which he is 22-10 with 32 saves, a 3.65 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. The Cardinals will need to find themselves another starting pitcher soon.

UPDATE: (5/28/2010) - Lohse has elected to have surgery on his forearm which will cause him to miss at least the next two months.

With Brad Penny and Kyle Lohse hurting a bit the Cardinals could be in the market for a starting pitcher. I would think that guys like Jake Westbrook, Gil Meche and Brett Myers would be likely targets. The Cardinals probably could get any of those three guys and enough cash to play them the rest of the year for a package of Allen Craig and Tyler Greene. Of these three pitchers mentioned Meche has the best stuff while Myers is pitching the best. I think all three of these teams would jump at this kind of offer as Craig has a nice upside but he’s blocked at 3B on the Cardinals by rookie David Freese who has been outstanding this year.

The Cardinals have placed 32-year old righty starting pitcher Brad Penny on the 15-day disabled list with a strained lat. Penny has started 9 games this season for the Cardinals and he is 3-4 with a 3.23 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. The Cardinals have called up 25-year old righty starting pitcher P.J. Walters to replace Penny both on the roster and in the rotation. Walters was the Cardinals’ #23 rated prospect coming into this season according to Baseball America. Walters has started 3 games in AAA-ball this season and he was 1-0 with a 0.48 ERA and a 0.64 WHIP. He only has given up 9 hits while whiffing 23 batters in only 18 2/3 innings in the minors this season which is pretty impressive. Walters pitched in 8 games (1 start) for the Cardinals last season in his first taste of the majors and he was 0-0 with a 9.56 ERA and a 1.88 WHIP. Walters better do better this time around or he’ll be back in the minors before he knows it.

Four years ago the Cardinals signed 31-year old righty swinging RF Ryan Ludwick to a minor league deal and it has proved to be a outstanding move for them. Ludwick has played in 41 games for the Cardinals this season and he is 44 of 152 (.289 avg, .862 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 6 homers and 16 RBIs. He has now played in 452 games in his four years with the Cardinals and he is 415 of 1,479 (.281 avg, .863 OPS) with 232 runs scored, 79 homers and 278 RBIs. Ludwick has been a huge asset since coming to St. Louis and I see no signs of him slowing down any time soon as long as he can stay healthy.