Cardinals purchase right-hander Jerome Williams, option Mike Mayers to Memphis

The St. Louis Cardinals on Monday purchased the contract of right-handed pitcher Jerome Williams from Class AAA Memphis.

Reliever Jordan Walden was transferred to the 60-day disabled list. Williams replaces Mike Mayers on the 25-man roster. Mayers was optioned to Memphis after allowing nine runs (all earned) in 1 1/3 innings of a 9-6 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday night.

Williams, 34, was signed by the Cardinals to a minor-league contract in June. He was 5-3 with a 4.89 ERA in nine starts and 57 innings for Memphis, with 15 walks and 34 strikeouts.

The 6-foot-3, 260-pound Williams is a veteran of 10 seasons. He is 52-66 with a 4.57 ERA in 225 games, 149 of them starts. He was 4-12 in 33 games for Philadelphia last season.

Williams, a native of Hawaii, was the San Francisco Giants’ first-round draft pick in 1999. He debuted with San Francisco in 2003 and has also had stints with the Chicago Cubs (2005-06), Washington (2007), Los Angeles Angels (2011-13), Houston (2014), Texas (2014) and the Phillies (2014-15).

Williams will wear No. 38.

This story was originally published July 25, 2016 at 3:21 PM with the headline "Cardinals purchase right-hander Jerome Williams, option Mike Mayers to Memphis."