The Cardinals have placed relief pitcher Brian Fuentes on the restricted list after the left-hander said to the team he required time off for private reasons.

GM John Mozeliak recounted Tuesday the team did not expect Fuentes back this season, adding “I didn’t close the door on anything but I don’t expect it.” He added he could tell “that something was bothering him.”

Fuentes will not count against the 40-man roster while on the restricted list and won’t be paid.

He called me yesterday and said he was handling some private issues, and at time he claimed he just could no longer play for us,” Mozeliak announced. “I didn’t dig in on it. Clearly, he was not looking to share exactly what was going on with me.”

Mozeliak recounted Fuentes’ decision hadn’t got anything to do with his role on the team.

Right-hander Trevor Rosenthal was recalled from Triple-A Memphis for Tues. night’s game against the Diamondbacks.

The Cardinals are on the edge of getting left-handed starter Jaime Garcia back.

Garcia, out since early June with a shoulder injury, threw 93 pitches in 5 innings in his 4th injury rehab start Tuesday night for Triple-A Memphis. He struck out 8 and walked 3 and left trailing Salt Lake 2-0.

Garcia won 13 games each of his 1st 2 seasons in 2009 and 2010, but is 3-4 with a 4.48 ERA in 11 starts this year.

Garcia could take over Sunday’s turn in the rotation from rookie Joe Kelly, who started Tuesday night against Arizona. Kelly, 2-5 with a 3.47 ERA, would move to the bullpen.

“Possibly, yes,” Mozeliak asserted. “Two things, we’ll see how he throws and how he feels tomorrow. That will be truly what dictates our next move.”  NFL spreads

The 37-year-old Fuentes signed as a minor league free agent last month and has appeared in 6 games, totaling 5 innings. The 4-time All-Star closer had been released by Athletics, which is paying the majority of his $5 million income. St. Louis was responsible for only a prorated share of the $480,000 minimum.

St. Louis had been counting on Fuentes providing a vet arm, considering him a trade deadline pickup.

“Really, I was disappointed honestly,” Mozeliak recounted. “He played into how we made decisions, so to have it end this way is definitely upsetting. But there’s no looking back for us at this point.”

St. Louis has 2 lefties remaining in the bullpen, both struggling. Marc Rzepczynski was 1-3 with a 5.02 ERA and rookie Barret Browning has taken the loss 2 of the past 3 games.

The 22-year-old Rosenthal was 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in 4 games covering 4 innings with the St. Louis Cardinals last month and made his big league debut on July 18. Since being optioned back to Memphis on Aug. 1, Rosenthal had 13 strikeouts in 10 innings.

Mozeliak said 1st baseman Lance Berkman, on the disabled list since Aug. 3, was not near to being ready to returning. Matt Adams, impressive as a fill-in 1st base, had surgery Tuesday for a bone spur in his right elbow.