Cardinals call up Charleston native James Naile

Charleston, Mo., native James Naile was called up from Triple-A Memphis on Friday before the St. Louis Cardinals' 5-4 home loss against the Detroit Tigers.

The move was made after the Cardinals placed outfielder Tyler O'Neill on the 10-day IL for a lower back strain, and right-handed pitcher Jake Woodford on the 15-day IL for right shoulder inflammation. Along with Naile comes outfielder Juan Yepez, who went 1 for 4 on Friday in his third game with the Cardinals this season. To make room for Naile on the 40-man roster, pitcher Wilking Rodriguez, who underwent season-ending arthroscopic shoulder surgery earlier in the week, was moved to the 60-day IL.

Naile went 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA in two starts over eight innings with the Red Birds. He is 2-1 with a 1.80 ERA over 10 innings in four relief appearances. He threw a season-high 3.1 innings against the Durham Bulls in his last outing.

Naile was originally drafted by the Oakland Athletics in 2015. After finishing the 2019 season at Triple-A Las Vegas, he elected free agency and signed a minor league deal with the Cardinals.

Naile then made his MLB debut on June 27, 2022 against the Miami Marlins and ran off five scoreless appearances before first allowing a run on Sept. 5.

The Cardinals (10-23) have the worst record in the National League and have lost the first game of every series they have played this season.

Adam Wainwright will make his season debut against the Tigers on Saturday at 1:15 p.m.