PITTSBURGH -- Kolten Wong, sidelined by left knee inflammation for the past 12 days, will be activated from the disabled list prior to the Cardinals' game against the Pirates on Saturday.
Interim manager Mike Shildt confirmed those plans after Wong was given a clean bill of health by the club's medical staff on Friday. Wong checked in with the doctors after returning from a one-day rehab stint with Class A Peoria (Ill.) in which he went 0-for-3 with a walk and played seven innings in the field. Wong met the club in Pittsburgh on Friday.
The Cardinals intended on optioning a pitcher in order to clear a roster spot for Wong, but those plans changed once outfielder William Fowler suffered a left foot fracture in Friday's 7-6 loss. With Fowler headed to the DL, Wong will take his place on the 25-man roster.
That move leaves Shildt with a four-man bench and eight-man bullpen.
Lyons in, Holland gone
Though he was designated for assignment a week ago, lefty Tyler Lyons will remain in the organization after clearing outright waivers. The Cardinals have assigned him to Triple-A, where Lyons will get an opportunity to start.
"It's going to take time to get stretched out, but the most important part is just to give him some consistency," president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said. "He feels like over this year, he just never got into any rhythm that would allow him the ability to really work on his breaking ball. And I think it'll take a little bit of pressure off of him because he knows he's going to start, he knows when he's going to pitch, and each time he gets that opportunity, he'll try to go a little further."
Lyons endured two different stints on the DL this year and posted an 8.64 ERA in 27 appearances when he was healthy.
Greg Holland also cleared waivers and was granted his release by the organization. The Cardinals will pay Holland the remainder of his $14 million contract. Holland is free to sign with another team.
From the trainer's room
Adam Wainwright keeps inching closer to making a return, and he is poised to take a big step forward in his rehab program when he joins the club in Florida next week.
Wainwright, who threw a high-intensity bullpen session at Busch Stadium on Wednesday, will do so again over the weekend before meeting the Cardinals in Miami. He'll throw off the mound there, too, and then, if all goes well, make the short drive north to begin a Minor League rehab assignment with the organization's Class A team.
Mozeliak said the Cardinals will see how Wainwright responds to these next hurdles before determining what role he'd fill upon returning to the Major League squad.
Mozeliak also offered the following injury updates on Friday:
• Left fielder Marcell Ozuna returned to the lineup after having a layer of skin shaved off one of his left toes on Thursday. Discomfort from that corn forced Ozuna out of Thursday's game in the fifth inning.
• Luke Gregerson will meet with noted orthopedist Dr. James Andrews next week to receive a second opinion on his ailing right shoulder. For the second time this season, Gregerson is on the DL due to an impingement in the shoulder.
• Left-hander Brett Cecil (right foot inflammation) is slated to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis on Monday.
• Michael Wacha (left oblique strain) remained in St. Louis to continue his throwing program. He has not made enough progress for the Cardinals to know when he will be ready to begin a rehab stint.
Worth noting
• Mozeliak said the organization does not have immediate plans to remove Luke Weaver from the rotation despite the inconsistency and inefficiency that has plagued the right-hander over the last two months. Since May 28, Weaver has finished six innings three times in 12 starts. He lasted a season-short 2 2/3 innings on Wednesday while throwing 74 pitches.
• Outfielder Adolis Garcia extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a two-hit night in Triple-A Memphis' win on Thursday. Garcia has 24 hits, including nine home runs, as well as 22 RBIs and 16 runs scored during that stretch. Starter Jake Woodford allowed three singles over six scoreless innings.
• The Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association announced that it will honor Cardinals Hall of Famer Bob Gibson with its 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award. Gibson will be presented with the honor at the Legends for Youth Dinner in New York on Nov. 8.