PITTSBURGH— After clearing waivers, Matt Clement is pitching out of the bullpen for Class AAAMemphis in the St. Louis Cardinals organization.

The Butler native, who turns 34 Aug. 12, has not pitched in the major leagues since June 2006 with Boston. Clement underwent extensive shoulder surgery Sept. 26 of that year and missed all of the 2007 season.

He signed a one-year contract with a club option with St. Louis in January.

"When a pitcher with Matt's experience and success is available at the price tag the market dictated at that time, it was a worthwhile gamble for us,"Cardinals assistant general manager John Abbamondi said Sunday.

"He had major surgery and there's never a guarantee a pitcher will bounce back when be goes under the knife. But Matt Clement is a man of character and he's working very hard to get back.

"He didn't have to accept an option to Memphis. The fact that he did shows how badly he wants to contribute to our organization,"Abbamondi added.

Barry Axelrod, Clement's agent, said the pitcher "was OKwith it, but what are you gonna do?

"Matt wasn't thrilled with going to the bullpen at first. He didn't think it was a good idea. But it does seem to be working out. He hadn't been progressing in his minor league rehab starts and (the Cardinals) were running out of time."

Clement is making $1.25 million this season. He has a career record of 87-86 with a 4.47 ERAin the majors.

Cardinals media relations assistant Melody Yount said a major league team can keep a player on a rehab assignment for up to 30 days.

Clement struggled in rehab starts at Class AASpringfield (Mo.) and Class AAAMemphis before the organization decided to move him to the bullpen at the Triple-A level.

"They could have put him back on the disabled list after the 30 days, but chose not to,"Yount said.

Had Clement refused the minor league option after clearing waivers, he would have become a free agent.

"Then he forfeits the rest of his contract,"Axelrod said. "It's better to be throwing in a structured situation than sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring."

The move to the bullpen was designed to build up Clement's arm strength, Abbamondi said.

"Velocity has been the problem with Matt,"he said. "The encouraging thing about him is his pitches are still sinking and his fastball is still cutting.

"The movement on his pitches is there. We're hoping that pitching him frequently in middle relief will bring his arm back to the point where we believe — and he believes — he can get major league hitters out."

Bullpen woes have cost St. Louis at the major league level so far this season. The Cardinals lead the major leagues with 22 blown saves and eight losses in extra innings.

The Cardinal bullpen has lost 20 games — trailing only San Francisco's 21 — while the team's starting rotation leads the National League with a 40-23 record.

Abbamondi insisted the Cardinals are optimistic Clement can pitch for them at some point this season.

"If we didn't believe that, we wouldn't be wasting all this time and his effort getting him ready," he said. "We still feel this gamble can pay off.

"We're trying to get him work and he's getting work. We haven't set any timetable for his return to the major leagues. That wouldn't be fair to him. Matt's doing everything in his power to get up here."

Clement has appeared in seven games at Memphis, compiling a 1-0 record and 2.84 earned run average. He has allowed only two hits in 6Z\c innings, striking out four. Clement also has walked five and hit three batters.

"The bullpen thing is temporary,"Axelrod said. "They haven't given up on Matt as a starter."

Clement is one of seven St. Louis pitchers either rehabbing or on the disabled list right now. Others include 2005 NLCy Young Award winner Chris Carpenter, Tyler Johnson, Josh Kinney, Adam Wainwright, Randy Flores and Mark Mulder.

"We've been through this before," Abbamondi said. "We're hopeful some of these guys can help us down the stretch."

The Cardinals are 53-43 at the all-star break, four and a half games behind Chicago in the NLCentral Division.

Baseball's trade deadline is July 31 and Clement is not on the block.

"We haven't even discussed that possibility,"Abbamondi said.