LOS ANGELES — For the first autumn in several years, Juan Yepez will not be tracking down textbooks this October, working through homework at night, or enrolling in courses to continue work on his business degree.
Classes can wait.
He’s got things to learn — on the field.
The Cardinals promoted Yepez for the first time to the big-league roster on Wednesday morning to serve as an extra righthanded bat off the bench for that evening’s wild-card game. Yepez hit 27 homers in a breakthrough season at Class AA and Class AAA, and because the Cardinals downsized their pitching staff for the one-game playoff they had an opening for a specialized bat.