The Cardinals activated King (oblique) from the 15-day injured list Sunday.
St. Louis optioned reliever Anthony Veneziano to Triple-A Memphis to clear room in the bullpen for King, who had been shelved since July 30 due to a left oblique strain. Prior to going down with the injury, King had notched two wins and two holds while delivering a 5.18 ERA, 1.63 WHIP and 24:13 K:BB across 41.2 innings in 43 appearances.
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Cardinals' John King: Return imminent
Rotowire
King (oblique) tossed a scoreless inning Saturday in his first rehab appearance with Triple-A Memphis, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
As long as he bounces back well, King should be activated from the 15-day injured list at some point during the Cardinals' Aug. 18-to-24 road trip. The lefty reliever has been sidelined since late July with a left oblique strain.
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Cardinals' John King: Aims for rehab games this weekend
Rotowire
King (oblique) will throw a full-effort bullpen session Wednesday and, if it goes well, will begin a rehab assignment this weekend, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
King has thrown a pair of bullpen sessions since going on the 15-day injured list in late July with a left oblique strain, but Wednesday's session will be his first at full effort. The lefty reliever hasn't missed much time, so he could be ready to rejoin the active roster next week after a brief rehab assignment.
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Cardinals' John King: Rehab assignment imminent
Rotowire
King (oblique) could begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis as soon as Tuesday, MLB.com reports.
King threw a bullpen session at approximately 70 percent effort last Thursday and was scheduled for a full-effort bullpen session Saturday. As long as he bounces back from those throwing sessions with no issues, he'll be cleared for rehab games. The lefty reliever is first eligible for activation from the 15-day injured list Friday, and he has a good chance to return that day.
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Cardinals' John King: Lands on IL with oblique strain
Rotowire
The Cardinals placed King on the 15-day injured list Wednesday with a left oblique strain.
King suffered the injury during an appearance Tuesday versus the Marlins and will be shelved for at least the next two weeks. Gordon Graceffo was called up from Triple-A Memphis to replace King on the 26-man active roster and in the bullpen.
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Cardinals' John King: Exits appearance with side injury
Rotowire
King was removed from an appearance Tuesday versus the Marlins due to a left side injury, Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
The Cardinals deemed King's removal precautionary, with the hope being that he is merely dealing with cramps rather than an oblique injury. He will be re-evaluated Wednesday. King threw two-thirds of a scoreless frame before exiting.
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Cardinals' John King: Relegated to low-leverage role
Rotowire
King has been scored upon in seven of 16 appearances this season out of the Cardinals' bullpen.
King was a trusted reliever for manager Oliver Marmol the previous two seasons, collecting a 2.75 ERA across 75 appearances. The sinker baller is still inducing grounders at an elite 64.3 percent rate, but an ugly 4.91 ERA, 1.84 WHIP and 8:6 K:BB over 14.2 frames has reduced the southpaw to low-leverage appearances in 2025, as King's lone hold this season came back on Opening Day.
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Cardinals' John King: Settles with St. Louis
Rotowire
King agreed to a one-year, $1.605 million contract with the Cardinals on Thursday, avoiding arbitration, Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 Houston reports.
King's first full season in St. Louis marked the best of his five-year career, finishing with a 2.85 ERA and 1.20 WHIP in 60 innings out of the bullpen. He won't be a candidate for saves as long as Ryan Helsley is on the active roster, but the 30-year-old King seems to have developed into a reliable middle reliever.
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Cardinals' John King: Stuck with third loss
Rotowire
King (3-3) allowed two runs on three hits and a walk over one inning to take the loss Tuesday versus the Padres. He did not record a strikeout.
King got the last out of the sixth inning in relief of Miles Mikolas, but he then stumbled in the seventh. Since the All-Star break, King has a 5.11 ERA and 5:3 K:BB over 12.1 innings while taking two losses and one blown save. While he is regressing, this has still been his best major-league season -- the southpaw has a 3.10 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 32:8 K:BB across 39.1 innings while adding seven holds this year.
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Cardinals' John King: Handed loss Monday
Rotowire
King (3-2) allowed a run on three hits and struck out one in one inning Monday, taking the loss versus the Pirates.
King gave up an RBI single to Nick Gonzales in the eighth inning, and the Pirates were able to hold onto the lead. This ended a 4.2-inning scoreless streak for King. The southpaw has still put together a solid campaign with a 2.61 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 28:5 K:BB through 38 innings. He's added five holds and one blown save while mainly working in a low-leverage role.
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Cardinals' John King: Picks up third win
Rotowire
King (3-1) got the win in Thursday's 3-2 victory over the Pirates. He pitched two innings and gave up one unearned run on two hits.
After pitching a clean ninth, the 29-year-old gave up a pair of two-out singles in the 10th to allow the designated runner to score, but manager Oliver Marmol showed trust by letting King finish off the game. The lefty reliever got off to a strong start this season with a 1.33 ERA over his first 20.1 innings, but he's struggled of late with a 5.25 ERA in his last 12 innings. His sharp command remains his calling card, as he's walked only four batters all season and will carry a 2.78 ERA and 1.14 WHIP into his next outing.
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Cardinals' John King: Nabs win Sunday
Rotowire
King (2-1) pitched a perfect frame to earn the extra-inning win over the Phillies on Sunday.
King got a look in a high-leverage spot, and he kept the game scoreless with a spotless ninth inning. The Cardinals took the lead in the 10th, and Ryan Helsley closed it out. King hasn't allowed an earned run over his last 10 innings, though he's given up three unearned runs in that span. He's pitched to a strong 1.50 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 13:2 K:BB over 18 innings while adding three holds and a blown save in 2024.
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Cardinals' John King: Collects first win
Rotowire
King (1-1) pitched two scoreless and hitless innings, walking one and striking out one while earning the win Wednesday over the Orioles.
King provided much-needed length out of the bullpen following a rain delay that ended starter Kyle Gibson's day after four innings. King has kept runs off the board in six of his nine outings since he was recalled from Triple-A Memphis in early May. He's at a 2.13 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 9:2 K:BB over 12.2 innings while adding two holds and a blown save across 11 appearances. King isn't a regular part of the Cardinals' high-leverage mix, so his fantasy appeal remains low.
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Cardinals' John King: Called up to majors
Rotowire
The Cardinals recalled King from Triple-A Memphis on Wednesday, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
King will provide the St. Louis bullpen with a fresh arm after Zack Thompson -- who gave up seven earned runs over two innings of relief in Tuesday's 14-1 loss to the Diamondbacks -- was optioned to Memphis in a corresponding move. Acquired from the Rangers at the trade deadline last summer, King has previously made 22 total appearances as a member of the Cardinals, logging a 1.71 ERA while collecting 10 holds and one win over 21 innings.
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Cardinals' John King: Sent to Triple-A
Rotowire
King was optioned to Triple-A Memphis on Tuesday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
The left-hander will move off the major-league roster to make room for Sonny Gray (hamstring), who is returning from the injured list to make his season debut Tuesday. King appeared in two games for the Cardinals and allowed a run on three hits with a 4:0 K:BB over 2.1 innings.
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Cardinals' John King: Charged with loss
Rotowire
King (0-1) allowed a run on one hit and struck out two over two-thirds of an inning to take the loss Sunday versus the Dodgers.
King didn't make the Cardinals' Opening Day roster, but he was first in line for a call-up when Riley O'Brien (forearm) went on the injured list Sunday. King's season debut went poorly, as he inherited a runner from Andre Pallante and then gave up the game-deciding home run to Max Muncy in the eighth inning. Last season, King posted a 3.62 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 20:10 K:BB over 37.1 innings between the Rangers and the Cardinals while adding 12 holds in 35 appearances. He's not expected to be part of the high-leverage mix, and his poor first impression Sunday is likely enough to keep him in a middle-innings role going forward.
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Cardinals' John King: Promoted from Triple-A
Rotowire
The Cardinals recalled King from Triple-A Memphis on Sunday.
The left-hander missed out on St. Louis' Opening Day roster but will join the big club since Riley O'Brien (forearm) is headed to the injured list. King posted a 3.62 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 20:10 K:BB across 37.1 innings between the Rangers and Cardinals last season.
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Cardinals' John King: Optioned to Triple-A
Rotowire
Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said Tuesday that King will be optioned to Triple-A Memphis, John Denton of MLB.com reports.
King was scheduled to face hitters Sunday at the Cardinals' spring training complex but was unable to due to illness, and the left-hander did not travel with the team to Arizona for its two exhibition games against the Cubs on Monday and Tuesday. The 29-year-old struggled early in spring training, but he allowed no runs in his final three Grapefruit League outings before the illness surfaced. With King heading to the minors, Ryan Fernandez will nab the final bullpen spot on the Opening Day roster.
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Cardinals' John King: Still in play for roster
Rotowire
King (illness) was scheduled to face hitters at the Cardinals' spring training complex in Florida on Sunday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
King did not travel with the team to Arizona for its two exhibition games against the Cubs on Monday and Tuesday, but he remains a possibility to be included on the Opening Day roster. The left-handed reliever struggled early on this spring but was unscored upon in his final three Grapefruit League appearances before an illness cropped up.
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Cardinals' John King: Won't pitch Saturday
Rotowire
King will not pitch in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Nationals due to an illness, Lynn Worthy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
The 29-year-old lefty should return to the mound in a few days once he's recovered from his illness. After giving up seven runs on 14 hits and six walks over his first six spring training games, King has not allowed a run over his last three appearances.
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