Audio: Mike Matheny Addresses Carpenter’s Absence

Photo Courtesy AP

The St. Louis Cardinals announced this afternoon that Matt Carpenter will be placed on the paternity leave list, following the birth of his daughter. Carpenter will be replaced by infielder Greg Garcia who gets the call-up from Memphis

The paternity leave list allows a team to replace a player for up to three games. The Cardinals begin a series in Washington tonight against the Nationals, and will have the services of Garcia at their disposal. The 26-year old was 6-for-10 after making the big league club out of spring training. He has also been very adept at coming off the bench in his brief major league career so far, compiling a .335 average in 31 pinch-hitting appearances.

Garcia was batting .269 with 8 RBI in 30 games for Memphis so far this year.