Springfield’s final homestand of the Texas League regular season officially will include a pair of veteran big-league Cardinals stars on injury rehab assignments from St. Louis, plus the team’s newest young prospect.
The Cardinals announced on Sept. 9 that 2025 National League All-Star Brendan Donovan will begin an injury rehab assignment as the Double-A team opens a Hammons Field series against the San Antonio Missions.
Meanwhile, six-time Platinum Glove award-winning third baseman Nolan Arenado will open his injury rehab assignment from a shoulder injury on Sept. 10. Both games are scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
Arenado is expected to play in multiple games during the series, marking the first time since Aug. 30, 2012, that Arenado has played at Hammons Field. During the 2012 season, then in the Colorado Rockies minor league system, he played 134 games for the Tulsa Drillers as a Texas League All-Star and MLB Futures Game Selection.
Brendan Donovan returns to Springfield’s roster for the first time since 2021. In 50 games that season, Donovan hit .319 with 28 RBIs. Since his time in the minors, the infielder has solidified himself on the big-league roster, hitting .280 across four seasons. This past July, he was named an All-Star for the first time in his career after hitting .297 with eight home runs for St. Louis, while playing in 89 games before the break.
The St. Louis Cardinals selected pitcher Liam Doyle with the No. 5 selection in the Major League Baseball Draft. Doyle had a 10-4 record with 164 strikeouts in 95 ⅔ innings in his final season at Tennessee. (Photo by Tennessee Athletics)
The team also announced that left-handed pitcher Liam Doyle, the No. 5 overall selection in the 2025 MLB draft, has been assigned to Springfield. Doyle, a star at Tennessee with a fastball that approaches 100 mph, pitched 1 ⅔ innings, allowing one run and two walks, and striking out three in his pro debut last weekend for Palm Beach (Low-A).
The Cardinals (84-48 overall and 41-22 in the second half) lead Tulsa by four games in the second-half standings. Any combination of three Springfield wins or Tulsa losses will give the Cardinals a sweep of the North Division halves for the first time since 2007.
If Springfield completes the rare feat, it will face Wichita in the best-of-three division playoff series starting Sept. 16 on the road before game two on Sept. 18 and game three, if needed, Sept. 19 at Hammons Field. Wichita (72-60) has the second-best overall record in the division.
The best-of-three Texas League championship series would open Sept. 21 at the North champ, with games two and three on the road, Sept. 23-24.
Cardinals’ final regular-season homestand
Sept. 9 — San Antonio at Springfield, 6:35 p.m.
Sept. 10 — San Antonio at Springfield, 6:35 p.m.
Sept. 11 — San Antonio at Springfield, 6:35 p.m.
Sept. 12 — San Antonio at Springfield, 7:05 p.m.
Sept. 13 — San Antonio at Springfield, 6:35 p.m.
Sept. 14 — San Antonio at Springfield, 1:05 p.m.
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Lyndal Scranton is a Springfield native who has covered sports in the Ozarks for more than 35 years, witnessing nearly every big sports moment in the region during the last 50 years. The Missouri Sports Hall of Famer, Springfield Area Sports Hall of Famer and live-fire cooking enthusiast also serves as PR Director for Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri and is co-host of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast. Contact him at Lscranton755@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @LyndalScranton. More by Lyndal Scranton