The St. Louis Cardinals recalled right-hander Hancel Rincón from Triple-A Memphis on Friday, giving the 24-year-old another look in the big-league bullpen for the final weekend of the regular season, via the MLB transaction log.
In a corresponding move, left-hander Cooper Hjerpe was optioned back to Memphis.
Rincón’s first taste of the majors earlier this month was brief and bruising. After St. Louis selected his contract on Sept. 1, he debuted Sept. 4 against the Colorado Rockies and appeared again the next night.
In all, he allowed seven earned runs on five hits and a walk over 1 1/3 innings.
That line produced a 47.25 ERA — the figure that still sits next to his name, no matter how you count the outings. He was optioned Sept. 6 to open a roster spot for Hjerpe.
The first appearance also became a sideshow. Home-plate umpire Doug Eddings ordered Rincón to straighten a tilted cap, a moment that drew a protest from manager Oliver Marmol and later an apology from Eddings, who conceded the cap had not violated a rule.
The baseball itself was worse: three runs in a third of an inning in the debut, then four more in a full inning the following night. A 47.25 ERA does not leave much room for interpretation.
What earned him the original call-up is still on the résumé. At Memphis this year Rincón went 6-6 with a 4.04 ERA, 88 strikeouts, and 31 walks in 71 1/3 innings, mostly in relief after years as a starter in the lower minors.
The Dominican right-hander, signed as an international free agent in 2019, has been in the Cardinals system for seven seasons. Scouts have long liked the changeup against left-handed hitters; the major-league sample was simply too small — and too loud — to show it.
Friday’s recall is a September roster shuffle more than a coronation.
The Cardinals sit outside the playoff picture at 77-82, and the last series is a chance to give innings to arms they already control.
Hjerpe, who replaced Rincón three weeks ago, heads back down after his own look. Rincón returns wearing No. 66, with the same stuff that got him here and a line that will follow him until he replaces it.
A 47.25 ERA is not a career. It is a sliver of one.
If Rincón gets another inning this weekend, the assignment is simple: make that number smaller.
For a club finishing the year and a pitcher who just got a second summons, that is the whole story.
