The St. Louis Cardinals announced that they have optioned infielder Thomas Saggese to Memphis and have activated outfielder Jordan Walker from the injured list.

Walker has been on the shelf since a wrist sprain sent him to the 10-day IL in late June. He was deemed healthy enough to begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Springfield on July 2 and he has been there since. Despite being recovered, the Cardinals made the decision to keep Walker in Springfield to regain his timing and confidence as he continued to struggle against lesser pitching.

Players only receive 20 days of rehab time and Walker was nearing that limit, which played a role in the decision. With Springfield, Walker slashed .158/.256/.395 and struck out 12 times in 38 at-bats. His activation comes without a clear role with the Cardinals but it is likely they continue to put him in the lineup on a semi-regular basis as he looks to prove he is a Major League-caliber player.

Thomas Saggese heads to Memphis for the third time this season as his playing time has remained sparse in the bigs. The infielder has played in 28 games while hitting .233 with a homer and five doubles while filling in across the infield. It is very possible that Saggese begins taking reps in the outfield as the current roster is lacking talent in the grass.

The Cardinals begin the second-half of the season tonight as they head to Arizona to take on the Diamondbacks in a three-game series. They open play today 6.5 games back in the division but only 1.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot. The Cardinals will have to go on a solid run over the next couple of weeks before they determine if they will be buyers or sellers at the Trade Deadline.