Cardinals center fielder Colby Rasmus met with a doctor Monday to have a scan taken of the abdominal soreness that kept him out of the lineup for a second consecutive day. The ultrasound showed no structural damage, general manager John Mozeliak said, and he expected the outfielder to be available.
Rasmus said he first felt soreness in his abdomen after a strenuous workout on last Monday’s off day. He aggravated the soreness leaping to try to prevent a home run Saturday at Cincinnati.
“That was the worst it felt,” Rasmus said. “I’m fine right now. I guess (the team doctors) are just trying to cancel things out.”
TODD RE-CLAIMED
The Cardinals claimed reliever Jess Todd off waivers from the New York Yankees, bringing the righty back to his original organization less than two years after he left via trade. Todd, 25, was drafted by the Cardinals in 2007 and traded to Cleveland in 2009 as the player to be named in the Mark DeRosa deal.
To make room on the 40-man roster for Todd, the Cardinals placed reliever Bryan Augenstein on the 60-day disabled list. Todd will report to Class AAA Memphis, which has been craving relief help since losing two righties to the big-league bullpen and another to season-ending injury.
The Cardinals continue to hunt for ways to strengthen their relief corps.
Todd “does give you some protection,” Mozeliak said. “I want ultimately flexibility as we continue to sort through some things. I still want to be looking.”
Augenstein, who tossed a bullpen session Monday as he recovers from a groin strain, will be eligible to come off the DL in mid-June, though he could spend several weeks of that time on a rehab assignment in the minors.
TALLET READY FOR REHAB
Brian Tallet will join the Cardinals’ Class A Quad Cities affiliate in Peoria, Ill., today to start a rehab assignment tonight. Tallet, who is returning from a broken right hand, is scheduled for at least a couple appearances before a return to the major-league bullpen.
Second baseman Skip Schumaker (elbow strain) is likely to start his rehab assignment before the end of the week. Schumaker participated in batting practice and said he needed to repeat the workouts before getting assigned to a minor-league affiliate to get timing against live pitching.
EXTRA BASES
Kyle McClellan’s wife, Bridget, gave birth to the couple’s first child, a girl, at 8:02 p.m. Sunday. Her name is Olivia Grace McClellan, and mother and daughter were healthy when McClellan left them for the ballpark Monday. … U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito attended Monday’s game and was escorted around the clubhouse by David Pratt, one of the Cardinals’ owners.
