kwang-hyun-kim-cardinals.jpg
USATSI

The St. Louis Cardinals placed lefty Kwang Hyun Kim on the injured list because of a kidney ailment on Saturday, a day before his next scheduled start. Kim, who is optimistic about returning this season, visited the emergency room on Friday after experiencing abdominal pain, per Anne Rogers of MLB.com. Reliever Andrew Miller was activated in a corresponding move.

player headshot
Kwang Hyun Kim
STL • RP • #33
ERA.83
WHIP.92
IP21.2
BB6
K11
View Profile

Kim, a 32-year-old rookie by way of South Korea, had been one of the Cardinals' most productive players through this point in the season. He had accumulated an 0.83 ERA and had limited opponents to a single home run in 21 innings. Kim hadn't shown an ability to miss bats with his upper-80s fastball and slider (he had struck out just 4.6 batters per nine), but he had shown an appreciable talent for limiting the quality of contact made against him. According to Statcast, he was in the 72nd percentile in exit velocity and in the 89th in hard-hit percentage.

St. Louis now has three starters on the injured list: Kim, Miles Mikolas (forearm strain) and Carlos Martinez (COVID-19), who is expected to return on Tuesday. The Cardinals' rotation depth was already being tested by the amount of doubleheaders the club has played to atone for their extended absence earlier this year due to a COVID-19 outbreak. To wit, the Cardinals will play two on Saturday, on Tuesday and then again on Thursday. 

As it stands, the Cardinals' rotation includes Jack Flaherty, Adam Wainwright, Dakota Hudson, and Johan Oviedo. Daniel Ponce de Leon, Alex Reyes and Jake Woodford have also received starts, and are presumably candidates to get the nod this week. 

The Cardinals entered Saturday's twinbill against the Chicago Cubs with a 14-15 record, good for a share of second place in the National League Central. Under the expanded postseason rules, every first- and second-place finisher qualifies for the playoffs.