Cardinals Give Hot Prospect MLB Shot, Lose Nathan Church to IL

The St. Louis Cardinals are expected to place Nathan Church on the Injured List.

May 4, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Nathan Church (27) catches a fly ball against the Milwaukee Brewers during the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals aren't going to have outfielder Nathan Church in the lineup over the next few days, at the very least.

On Thursday, Church was scratched from the Cardinals' lineup before the club's series finale against the Pittsburgh Pirates. At the time, Cardinals manager Oli Marmol gave the fanbase some hope and noted that he's a "little beat up" and the hope was that he would be in the lineup for the Cincinnati Reds series.

While this is the case, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reported that Church will be placed on the Injured List. In his place, the Cardinals will promote red-hot prospect Bryan Torres to make his big league debut.

"The Cardinals are in fact recalling Bryan Torres to join the team in Cincinnati, a source with direct knowledge says. Nathan Church will be placed on the IL," Jones wrote. "Carlos Baerga mentioned the call-up on Instagram last night, and then deleted it, but it’s back, so credit to him."

The Cardinals Are Expected To Lose Nathan Church To The IL

May 9, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Nathan Church (27) celebrates after hitting a RBI double during the fourth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images | David Frerker-Imagn Images

There was a bit of drama early in the day on Thursday with reports surfacing indicating that Torres would be promoted to the big leagues. Then, conflicting reports popped up indicating that Torres would not be getting the call to the majors.

Now, it seems like the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction. Torres has played in 36 games down in Triple-A so far this season and is slashing .336/.454/.477 with a .931 OPS, two homers, 16 RBIs, 10 stolen bases, 10 doubles, one triple and 24 runs scored. So far this season, he has gotten playing time at second base, center field and left field. With Church expected to land on the Injured List, Torres is someone who can come in and add another left-handed bat into the mix and help to replace the rookie.

Torres is 28 years old and has been playing baseball professionally since 2015. He began his professional career in the Milwaukee Brewers' farm system back in 2015. Since then, he's been working his way towards this moment. He hasn't played in a big league game yet in his career.

It's unfortunate that the Cardinals are going to be losing Church to the Injured List. The club hasn't made the move official just yet, but that is expected to come on Friday. Hopefully, it's a short absence for the 25-year-old.