Cardinals Add Brandon Dickson and Ali Sanchez to Expanded Roster

CARDINALS ADD BRANDON DICKSON & ALI SANCHEZ;

RYAN HELSLEY TO 60-DAY I.L. AS MLB ROSTERS EXPAND TO 28 PLAYERS

CINCINNATI, Ohio, September 1, 2021 – The St. Louis Cardinals announced that they have selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Brandon Dickson from Memphis (AAA) and recalled catcher Ali Sanchez from the Memphis roster prior to today’s double-header, as Major League Baseball rosters expand to 28 players for September.   The team also announced that right-handed reliever Ryan Helsley (right elbow stress reaction) has been transferred to the 60-day Injured List.

Dickson, 36, will be returning to the Cardinals roster for the first time since 2012 when he appeared in four games as a reliever. The 6-5, 190-pound Dickson also appeared in four games, including one start, for the Cardinals during their 2011 World Championship season.

Dickson, who spent eight seasons (2013-2020) pitching in Japan for the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball, signed a minor league contract with the Cardinals in June. He was named to the United States team for the 2020 Summer Olympics in July and was part of their silver medal-winning team at the Tokyo games held last month.

Since returning from the Olympic Games, Dickson has appeared in five games for Memphis and he has totaled 11 games pitched (all in relief) for the Redbirds in 2021, with 10.1 innings pitched. Dickson, who is a native of Montgomery, AL., was originally signed by the Cardinals as a non-drafted free-agent in August of 2006 out of Tusculum College (Tenn.).

Sánchez, 24, who appeared in one game (May 2 vs. NYM – Game 2) for the Cardinals this season, has batted .268 (60-for-224) with 4 HR’s and 21 RBI in 62 games with Memphis in 2021. The right-handed hitting Sánchez has led the Memphis team in games caught (56) this season, throwing out 15 of 43 (35 pct.) attempted base-stealers.

Dickson has been assigned uniform no. 53 and Sánchez wears no. 41.

— STL —

My View: The Dickson thing is head scratching. He’s not going to be an impact down the stretch and really doesn’t have a future with the team after this season. He’s also not going to help push the team to the post-season. Why not give someone like Matthew Liberatore a shot? He’s the future of the team, so give him some low leverage innings against Major Leaguers to see what he can do. If not him, there are other guys that need to be protected against the Rule V draft going into next season.

Sanchez gives the team the ability for Andrew Knizner the opportunity to be a pinch hitter, which will help his bat develop more at the MLB level. Unfortunately, Knizner doesn’t appear to be a long-term plan for the team; they’re probably planning on Ivan Hererra as the heir to Yadier Molina. I hope the team will at least shop Knizner around if they don’t think he’s going to be the regular catcher after next season.

Helsley’s season appears to be done, since he’s only been on the IL for a few weeks.