ST. LOUIS - Fresh off of Labor Day Weekend, the St. Louis Cardinals made a flurry of roster moves Tuesday.
LHP Matt Liberatore has been activated off of the IL and the team also recalled INF Jose Fermin from Triple-A Memphis, the team announced Tuesday.
The Cardinals made two corresponding moves, with the team placing closer JoJo Romero on the IL with left knee patellar tendonitis, while INF Taylor Motter was designated for assignment.
Liberatore has been out of action since Aug. 19 after dealing with lower back tightness. Liberatore made two rehab starts in Triple-A Memphis, pitching a total of 6.2 innings, allowing six earned runs, with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 11 to 10.
Romero has served as the Cardinals closer since late-July and the results haven't been terrible, while he has posted a ERA of 4, his FIP of 0.93 in that stretch suggests that he was quite a bit unlucky. Overall, Romero has posted a solid 3.68 ERA with an excellent FIP of 2.22, suggesting that he might have a future with the club next season. Cardinals relievers Ryan Helsley and Giovanny Gallegos figure to serve as the closers in Romero place for potentially the rest of the season.
Fermin will make his return to St. Louis after being making his major league debut in July. Fermin appeared in 12 games for the Cardinals, slashing a .160/.250/.160 slash line.
Motter will be DFA'd for the third time this season. Motter was previously DFA'd in April and May but he elected free agency then re-signed with the team a day later on the first DFA, then he was straight outrighted to the minors in the second DFA.
Overall, Motter appeared in 29 games, slashing a .171/.232/.211 slash line with three doubles and two RBI's. Motter's OPS was 77 points below the league average.
