The Cardinals optioned Graceffo to Triple-A Memphis on Sunday.
The 24-year-old was called up Friday and made his MLB debut Saturday versus Cincinnati, and he pitched well in long relief with just one run allowed across 4.1 innings. Graceffo won't be available for a few days following that appearance, so Jacob Bosiokovic will come up as a fresh bullpen arm.
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Cardinals' Gordon Graceffo: Makes debut Saturday
Rotowire
Graceffo allowed a run on three hits and two walks while striking out four over 4.1 innings of relief in Saturday's 9-4 loss to the Reds.
Graceffo was called on for mop-up duty after an unusually poor start from Sonny Gray and an ineffective relief appearance by John King. The Cardinals' bullpen has been leaned on heavily of late, and Graceffo was called up Friday to provide length after working as a starter with Triple-A Memphis. He has a 3.84 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 70:29 K:BB over 75 innings with Memphis this year. It's unclear if the right-hander will stick around in the majors or return to Memphis after this 67-pitch appearance, which was his first in 10 days.
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Cardinals' Gordon Graceffo: Added to roster
Rotowire
The Cardinals selected Graceffo's contract from Triple-A Memphis on Friday.
Graceffo has posted a 3.84 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 70:29 K:BB across 75 frames with Memphis this season. All 14 of his appearances have been starts, and while it's possible he'll get a look in the rotation eventually with the Cardinals, the plan for now is to break him in as a reliever. Graceffo will be making his major-league debut when he gets into a game.
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Cardinals' Gordon Graceffo: Headed for majors
Rotowire
The Cardinals intend to promote Graceffo to the majors Friday, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.
The Cardinals have gotten short outings from Kyle Gibson and Miles Mikolas in the last two days, so Graceffo will begin his big-league career out of the bullpen. It's possible that changes as the season progresses, as Graceffo has been used exclusively as a starter this season at Triple-A Memphis and for nearly the entirety of his minor-league career. He's maintained a 3.84 ERA and 1.35 WHIP with Memphis but has a solid 70:29 K:BB across 75 frames and also has good prospect pedigree.
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Cardinals' Gordon Graceffo: Adapting well in Double-A
Rotowire
Graceffo went seven innings for Double-A Springfield on Sunday, allowing two runs on three hits without a walk while striking out six. He now has a 2.78 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 18:2 K:BB in 22.2 innings spanning four starts since his promotion.
The strikeouts have dropped off noticeably from his spectacular High-A results (11.2 K/9 for Peoria; just 7.3 with Springfield), but Graceffo continues to display pinpoint control. It's reasonable to think that he'll increase his whiffs as he goes along, too. Graceffo has pitched a career-high seven innings in each of his last two outings, striking out six both times. His results bear watching as the Double-A season continues.
