ST. LOUIS — The Cardinals plan to put first baseman Lance Berkman on the 15-day disabled list and activate utility man Skip Schumaker before opening a three-game series in Pittsburgh on Friday.
Berkman left the Cardinals' 11-1 win over Cincinnati on Wednesday after re-aggravating a left calf strain that caused him to miss four games last week. The hope is that 15 days will be enough time to clear up the lingering tightness rather than have him continue to deal with it.
"I don't think he came back too soon; it was just really a re-aggravation," general manager John Mozeliak said. "And rather than try to play that whole thing again with no off days, we just decided this makes more sense — to put him on the DL and make sure he's absolutely 100 percent when he comes back.
"The last time there was off days and we really weren't giving up that much, where now we play six straight and it's a little bit different sacrifice."
Schumaker suffered a right oblique strain during spring training, the same injury that caused him to miss the National League Championship Series last year. He began a rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Memphis on Sunday and played in his fourth game in five days Thursday afternoon.
After returning too early from an injury last season and struggling at the plate for several weeks, the Cardinals hoped to get Schumaker plenty of at-bats at Memphis to ensure that didn't happen again.
Cardinals manager Mike Matheny had said Tuesday that this weekend would be too early for Schumaker to return, but Berkman's injury obviously has changed the team's thinking.
"When you look at where he's at and you check with him, we can be careful with not being overly demanding on what his role will be when he first comes back," Mozeliak said. "We are going to Pittsburgh, which is a modern ballpark, so he can get some extra work in over the weekend.
"When you think about the options we had . . . we just felt like this was the safest move to do. I spoke with him and he said he feels he's ready."
Rookie Matt Carpenter will get most of the playing time at first base while Berkman is out. Top prospect Matt Adams was given consideration for a promotion, but Mozeliak said, "It came down to if you're going to play him, sure, but with Carpenter doing what he's doing, he can get the large share of at-bats. Right now the way he's playing, give him a shot."
Allen Craig also would have been a possible fill-in at first base, but he's currently on the disabled list while rehabbing from offseason knee surgery. He began playing in extended spring-training games at the Cardinals' complex in Jupiter and could be ready for a rehab assignment by the end of the weekend.
