Cardinals Promote Lane Thomas and Add Adalberto Mejia From Angels in Harrison Bader Move

For the first two and a half months of the 2019 season, Harrison Bader was a valuable contributor for the St. Louis Cardinals, who are in the midst of a compelling first-place battle in the NL Central.

However, Bader's numbers have plummeted in recent weeks, forcing manager Mike Schildt to remove him from the everyday lineup card. On Tuesday, the club pulled the trigger and opted to option the young outfielder to Triple-A Memphis.

And 24 hours later, the Red Birds have finally revealed who they are promoting in the routine corresponding move -- OF Lane Thomas.

Thomas made his big league debut earlier in the season, but only endured 13 plate appearances in two separate stints, recording four hits and four RBI. The Cards simply have too much OF depth on their hands, and the 23-year-old prospect is, more often than not, the odd man out.

In other news, the club also claimed left-handed reliever Adalberto Mejia off waivers from the Angels, transferring infielder Jedd Gyorko to the 60-day injured list to make room for the 26-year-old southpaw on the roster.

There's no doubting that the Cardinals need bullpen help and they could move for another arm before the impending deadline, but Mejia's 7.32 ERA across 19.2 innings suggests that the club is alarmingly desperate for reinforcements.