St. Louis Cardinals to option Harrison Bader, promote Lane Thomas

July 30 (UPI) -- The St. Louis Cardinals are optioning struggling outfielder Harrison Bader to Triple-A Memphis.

League sources told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and MLB.com on Monday that the Cardinals will recall Lane Thomas, who is on the 40-man roster, to replace Bader.

Bader, 25, has notched career lows in batting average (.195) and slugging percentage (.339) this season. His .195 average is the lowest of any Cardinals position player that made the team's opening day roster.

Bader hasn't registered a multi-hit game since July 3. The center fielder also hasn't recorded three hits in a contest since June 13. In his last 15 games, he is 3-for-24 with nine strikeouts.

"It's been tough for him to get at-bats," Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said. "He's in a spot where he knows he's going to be part of our future and we just want to get him going."

After the Cardinals traded Tommy Pham to the Tampa Bay Rays last season, Bader stepped in at center field and hit .264 with 12 home runs and 15 stolen bases.

Thomas has been with the Cardinals multiple times this season. He has a .308 batting average in 13 at-bats with the major league club.