Pack it in: Eliminated from contention, Cardinals place Arenado, Contreras on injured list

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) - Days after the St. Louis Cardinals were officially eliminated from postseason contention, the team issued another formal sign that it’s time to pack it in for the season.

The Cardinals placed Nolan Arenado and Willson Contreras on the 10-day injured list Friday, effectively ending their respective seasons.

The team listed Arenado with lower back spasms. As the veteran third baseman has dealt with minor on-and-off back issues throughout his career, it makes practical sense for the Cardinals to shut down Arenado rather than risk him playing through the ailment at this point in the calendar.

This season officially marks Arenado’s first with the Cardinals in which he has finished with a sub-.800 OPS, ending the year at .774 in that category. Arenado slugged 26 home runs with 93 RBIs on the campaign.

Contreras’ injury was listed as left wrist tendonitis. The Cardinal catcher left a game earlier this week with a wrist injury. Cardinals manager Oli Marmol described recently that Contreras has also been dealing with a hip issue. The 31-year-old backstop concludes his debut season in St. Louis with 20 home runs and an .826 OPS. It’s Contreras’ highest OPS since his All-Star 2019 season with the Cubs.

The Cardinals selected the contract of INF/OF Irving Lopez while recalling OF Michael Siani. Both players were on the Triple-A Memphis roster. Lopez has a 1.001 OPS in 69 plate appearances with Memphis following his promotion from Double-A Springfield. Siani had a brief stint with the Cincinnati Reds earlier this season.

Catcher Ivan Herrera was recalled by the Cardinals earlier in the week to help spell Contreras as he navigated his various injuries. He will split the catching duties with Andrew Knizner through the end of the season.

The Cardinals transferred Dylan Carlson to the 60-day injured list as a procedural move to make room for Friday’s transactions. Carlson had season-ending ankle surgery earlier this week.