The veteran backstop will give St. Louis an extra bat off the bench in the NLCS.
The St. Louis Cardinals added catcher A.J. Pierzynski to their National League Championship Series roster, manager Mike Matheny announced on Friday.
"We wanted to have another experienced bat, and what A.J. has been able to do through his career and in the postseason gives us another ‑‑ actually a couple options," Matheny said. "It also frees us up to use Tony Cruz to come off the bench as a right‑handed bat, but bringing A.J. in as a potent left‑handed bat for us."
Pierzynski gives the team an additional veteran bat and, as the third catcher, removes any risk the Cardinals would face using a backstop as a pinch hitter. The 37-year-old lefty swinger hasn't appeared in the postseason since 2008, but has been a highly effective October hitter in his career. Pierzynski has managed a .300/.372/.520 line in 114 career playoff plate appearances.
St. Louis didn't get much production from its bench in the NLDS. Oscar Taveras' single in Game 2 represented the only time a Cardinals pinch hitter reached base in seven plate appearances.
The Cardinals removed left-hander Sam Freeman from the postseason roster to make room for Pierzynski. Freeman pitched in one game in the NLDS, walking both batters he faced in Game 1.
"That changes the roles of some of the guys in the bullpen, and I think Marco [Gonzales] has been able to prove his value there as a lefty reliever and still have Michael with the opportunity to eat up some innings," Matheny explained.
Cardinals roster
Starting pitchers (4): John Lackey, Lance Lynn, Shelby Miller, Adam Wainwright
Relief pitchers (7): Randy Choate, Marco Gonzales, Seth Maness, Carlos Martinez, Pat Neshek, Trevor Rosenthal, Michael Wacha
Catchers (3): Tony Cruz, Yadier Molina, A.J. Pierzynski
Infielders (6): Matt Adams, Matt Carpenter, Daniel Descalso, Pete Kozma, Jhonny Peralta, Kolten Wong
Outfielders (5): Peter Bourjos, Randal Grichuk, Matt Holliday, Jon Jay, Oscar Taveras
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