The St. Louis Cardinals have been without first baseman Matt Adams since late May due to a torn quadriceps muscle while the Toronto Blue Jays had initially expected to lose starting pitcher Marcus Stroman for the season when he tore his ACL in spring training.
However, the two are returning to action this week.
The Cardinals announced Adams was activated from the 60-day disabled list on Wednesday. The 27-year-old was not in the lineup for today's game against the Chicago Cubs, but he's expected to play in the team's upcoming series against the Cincinnati Reds.
St. Louis has struggled to score runs for much of the year despite having the best record in the MLB. Adams will provide another solid left-handed bat in the Cardinals' lineup, which will help improve their offense. He was batting .243/.281/.375 with 12 runs scored, 4 home runs and 20 RBIs in 43 games before the injury.
The team has also gotten back Randal Grichuk and Stephen Piscotty this week while they wait on Matt Holliday to make his return from a quadriceps strain.
In Toronto, the Blue Jays don't need any offensive help. The starting rotation is perhaps the only area they need to improve upon, and they'll welcome back Stroman this weekend as he's scheduled to face the New York Yankees.
Stroman has made remarkable progress since suffering a torn ACL in spring training, and for the last month rumors indicated the right-hander could be back in the Jays' rotation by September. General manager Alex Anthopoulos confirmed the news that Stroman will start on Saturday. Blue Jays' starter Mark Buehrle's next outing was pushed back because he received a cortisone shot in his pitching shoulder, so Stroman will take his turn in the rotation.
"He's completely healthy," Anthopoulos said of Stroman, via The Associated Press. "That's the first priority and concern for us. Everything we discussed with him has been health, and everything we discussed with our staff has been health. He feels good. We've checked for inflammation, and he's been cleared."
Judging by Stroman's rookie campaign with the Blue Jays last season, he should be of help to an improved starting rotation, which now boasts David Price. Stroman, 24, finished 11-6 with a 3.65 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 111 strikeouts in 26 games (20 starts), totaling 130 2/3 innings last year.