John

King

The 29-year-old hurler made two appearances with the Cardinals this season and allowed one earned run and struck out four batters across 2 1/3 innings. Expect King to be up-and-down as the team manages its day-to-day roster.

With Sonny Gray back on the active roster, King will go back to the minors and continue to get stretched out as a starter. The 29-year-old is likely to be one of the few pitchers to bounce and up-and-down from the minors to the majors this season and be used to handle left-handed hitters.

King is back with the Cardinals after St. Louis placed Riley O’Brien on the 15-day injured list with a flexor strain. King will likely be up-and-down all year with the Cards, and he’ll be asked to handle left-handed hitters and work in low-leverage roles to begin the year.

King was shipped to the minors earlier this week after failing to land a spot in St. Louis’ season-opening bullpen. The 29-year-old lefty figures to get the call back to the majors in relatively short order.

No details have emerged yet on the actual agreement between the two parties, but expect it to be somewhere in the neighborhood of the $1 million that was projected by MLBTradeRumors.com. King — who came over to the Cardinals in the deadline deal that sent Jordan Montgomery to the Rangers — registered a stellar 1.45 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and a 10/6 K/BB ratio across 18 2/3 innings in 20 appearances with the Cardinals.

King, 28, made 15 appearances for the Rangers this season — registering a 5.79 ERA, 1.61 WHIP and a 10/4 K/BB ratio across 18 2/3 innings. Given the Cardinals fire sale at the deadline, there’s a chance that King could get an immediate opportunity to work out of the big league bullpen.

King had just been called up on Saturday, and he didn’t get a chance to pitch this time around. He has a 5.79 ERA in 15 appearances for the Rangers on the season.

With Josh Sborz (biceps) landing on the injured list on Saturday, King will return to add depth to the Rangers’ bullpen. The 28-year-old has posted a 5.79 ERA, 1.61 WHIP and a 10/4 K/BB ratio over 18 2/3 innings with the big league club this season.

King was only up for one game while lefty Andrew Heaney was on the paternity list.

King receives the call back to the big leagues with southpaw starter Andrew Heaney away from the club for a few days on paternity leave.