The St. Louis Cardinals announced they have purchased the contract of outfielder/first baseman Chad Huffman from Memphis (AAA) and in a corresponding move have optioned RHP John Gant to Memphis.
Huffman, 32, is making his first appearance in the Major Leagues since his debut with the New York Yankees during the 2010 season, in which he played in nine games with a .167 (3-18) batting average, two RBI and two walks while playing left field, right field and first base.
The right-handed hitting Huffman has played in 43 games at Memphis, starting 25 in the outfield and eight at first base. He was batting .292 with four home runs and 20 RBI in his second season with the Cardinals Triple-A affiliate (2013).
Huffman had a strong month of May, batting .317 (20-69) with two home runs, 11 RBI and a .469 on-base percentage. The .469 on-base percentage was tied for the highest in all of Triple-A and the 8th-best in all of Minor League Baseball.
Playing in his 12th season professionally, the 2006 second round draft pick (53rd overall) by the San Diego Padres out of Texas Christian University was a high school and college teammate of current Cardinals first baseman Matt Carpenter.
Huffman has played in 1,014 minor league games, batting .281 with 981 hits, 123 home runs and 551 RBI over that time. He has played in four Minor League All-Star Games, participated in two Triple-A home run derbies and played in Japan for the Chiba Lotte Marines during the 2014-15 seasons.
Gant, 24, made one appearance for the Cardinals following his recall from Memphis on May 31. He pitched 3.1 innings in relief last night allowing two runs while striking out three. Gant made three starts in Memphis posting an 0-1 record with a 2.19 ERA in 12.1 innings prior to his recall.
Huffman has been assigned uniform No. 65.
