The St. Louis Cardinals selected the contract of veteran catcher Austin Romine from Memphis (AAA) and optioned catcher Iván Herrera to Memphis.
Additionally, outfielder Tyler O’Neill will begin his injury rehabilitation assignment at Memphis.
Romine, 33, was originally a second round draft pick by the New York Yankees in 2007 out of Lake Forest, Calif. He played in six games at Memphis batting .318 (7-22) with four RBI and hit safely in five of six games. Over 11 Major League seasons of experience with the Yankees, Detroit Tigers, Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Angels, Romine batted .238 with 28 home runs and 157 RBI in 436 career games. The right-handed hitting Romine was signed by the Cardinals as a minor league free agent on June 17. He and Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado were teammates at El Toro High School.
Herrera, 22, played in 11 games for the Cardinals and batted .111 (2-18) with an RBI and two walks. The Cardinals rookie backstop started six games with St. Louis posting a 3-3 record in the games.
O’Neill, 27, was placed on the 10-day Injured List with a left hamstring strain on June 20, while the team was on a road trip to Milwaukee. The two-time Rawlings Gold Glove winner has played in 45 games this season batting .241 with four home runs, 28 RBI and six stolen bases for the Cardinals. He will begin his rehab assignment with Memphis at Durham tonight in International League play.
Romine will be active for tonight’s game in Atlanta and wear uniform No. 35.
