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While it's not talked about as much with the rise of the Milwaukee Brewers, the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals rivalry is still one of the most bitter in baseball. That rivalry begins again this weekend in a series that the Cubs badly need to win to try and keep pace with the aforementioned Brew Crew. Meanwhile, the Cards are largely out of the running. However, the signing of Jorge Alcala shows St. Louis would still love to play spoiler.
Alcala was claimed off waivers from the Red Sox. Boston designated him for assignment earlier this week. The Cards had several 40-man roster openings from their deadline dealings. Because Alcalá is out of options, St. Louis will need to make a corresponding active roster move once he reports to the team.
Cardinals claim a hard-throwing reliever as roster reshuffle continues ahead of Chicago Cubs series
The move is the latest reshuffling of a roster for the Chicago Cubs' rival that entered the season thinking they could compete for the NL Central crown. They also kicked off the season looking like they might be a top playoff contender. However, a combination of injuries and poor play eventually convinced the club's front office that it was time to sell.
On July 31, the Cardinals traded closer Ryan Helsley to the Mets, as well as relievers Phil Maton to the Rangers, and Steven Matz to the Red Sox. They received a total of six Minor League players.
Alcala started the season with the Minnesota Twins but was traded to the Red Sox on June 11. While his season ERA is abysmal (6.64), he did show signs of turning things around in Boston. In 22 games with Minnesota, he posted an 8.88 ERA but a 3.31 earned run average with the Red Sox.
The newest Cards reliever has done one thing quite well all season long. In 40 2/3 combined innings pitched, Alcala has struck out 46 batters. That should certainly be a concern for Chicago Cubs fans who have seen their favorite team rack up Ks even against pitchers not known as strikeout artists of late.