ST. LOUIS -- The Cardinals placed infielder Jhonny Peralta on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday, retroactive to Monday, with a ligament strain in his left thumb.
Outfielder Jeremy Hazelbaker and right-hander Miguel Socolovich also were recalled from Triple-A Memphis, while catcher Michael McKenry was designated for assignment.
"[Peralta] just continued to feel discomfort," Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said. "We were hoping through anti-inflammatories, we thought he was going to be able to play through it, and unfortunately he was not. I think the best thing for him right now is some rest, and hopefully in about 10 days he can start resuming baseball activities."
Peralta's latest DL stint continues an injury-plagued year for the 34-year-old infielder. He missed two games with left thumb discomfort after he injured it July 5 on a swing. Peralta hit a home run Saturday but was pulled from Sunday's game in a double-switch in the fifth inning. He wasn't in the lineup Monday because of the ongoing thumb issue.
He missed the first 57 games of the season after undergoing left thumb ligament surgery and has played in just 30 games, hitting .221 with five home runs and 13 RBIs. The inflammation that put Peralta on the DL is on the opposite side of the surgically repaired thumb and is not related to the injury he suffered in Spring Training, according to Mozeliak.
"I think we were trying to be patient through this," Mozeliak said. "We were hoping that, when we had a couple days back in Milwaukee, that this would be something he could play through, but he was just not feeling right so we put him on the DL."
Hazelbaker hit .250 with seven homers and 19 RBIs in 61 games for St. Louis before being optioned to Memphis on June 15. Jedd Gyorko and Greg Garcia will likely split time at the hot corner while Peralta is out.
"Garcia is showing he can play there well," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "That's a main position as well for Jedd, as well as Kolten [Wong]. They're second basemen, but they can play third. We've watched Greg have some really good days over there."
Socolovich posted a 2.79 ERA in 35 relief appearances for Memphis. He also had a 1.82 ERA in 28 games for the Cardinals last season. He adds a fresh arm to a struggling bullpen and can help take some of the burden off Tyler Lyons in a possible long-relief role.
"I think anytime you add an extra arm to the bullpen, it kind of stretches it out in terms of how you want to use it," Mozeliak said.
McKenry, 31, appeared in three games since his promotion on July 7.