ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Cardinals announced Wednesday that closer Trevor Rosenthal was being moved from the 10-day disabled list to the 60-day DL and that the right elbow injury would require Tommy John surgery.
"I think just the timing of it, being right in the middle of this race and the way my personal season had been taking shape and the way the team has been playing recently. Tough timing," Rosenthal said.
"It felt like we were getting in a groove, I was in a groove, and to kind of have this happen and take a piece away from a really good team is a little bit of a bummer."
Rosenthal, who recorded 93 saves in 2014-15, lost the closer's job a year ago to Seung Hwan Oh but reclaimed it this season after Oh struggled. Rosenthal recorded 11 saves, giving him 118 over the past four seasons.
Cardinals general manager Mike Girsch said Rosenthal will have surgery next week.
"We hoped for better news," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. ". Somebody is going to have to step in. He was really throwing the ball well."
Cubs: Rizzo's eagerness to play 3B quickly wanes
CINCINNATI -- Anthony Rizzo didn't hesitate when Cubs manager Joe Maddon asked if he'd finish the game at third base, a position he'd never played at any point in his career.
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Can't be that hard, right? Even if he is left-handed and would have to turn his body to throw to his normal spot at first base?
"I said `Yeah, I can play,'" Rizzo said on Wednesday . "I can field ground balls and throw. It's really as simple as you can make it."
Simple in theory. In practice, Rizzo discovered that it's a whole different world on the other side of the infield.
Just for fun, Maddon moved Rizzo to third base on Tuesday night after Kris Bryant got hit in the hand by a pitch and went for X-rays that were negative. Rizzo played his unaccustomed spot in the ninth inning and didn't get a ball hit his way as the Cubs finished off a 13-9 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
Rizzo became only the third left-handed third baseman in Cubs history. The other two were in the 1800s. Although eager for the new experience, he started having second thoughts when he actually saw Joey Votto -- the Reds' first batter of the ninth inning -- dig in at the plate.
"I was not prepared at all," Rizzo said. "I've maybe taken ground balls there once this year, just to mess around."
