The Cardinals announced Tuesday that they’ve selected the contracts of outfielder Matt Koperniak and right-handers Tink Hence, Tekoah Roby and Matt Svanson. The team added that left-hander Drew Rom went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Memphis. The Cardinals now have 39 players on their 40-man roster.
Of today’s additions, Hence is the most highly regarded. The 22-year-old finished the season as a consensus top-100 prospect, placing as high as 30th on Baseball America’s rankings and also landing 46th at FanGraphs and 61st at MLB.com. He spent 2024, his age-21 season, pitching at the Double-A level, where he logged a 2.71 ERA in an abbreviated workload.
Hence started just 20 games on the season, tallying 79 2/3 innings while missing nearly all of June and July. The Cardinals didn’t specify the nature of his injury, but Hence departed his June 5 start after two innings, returned to pitch one inning on June 23, and then didn’t return to the mound until July 27. Hence’s season came to an end after he was lifted from a Sept. 11 start following just 1 1/3 innings.
Even with the truncated year, Hence remains one of the minor leagues’ most promising young arms. He set down a whopping 34.1% of hitters on strikes in 2024 and showed average or better command, with an 8.1% walk rate. Hence sits mid-90s with a heater that can climb to 98-99 mph, rounding out his repertoire with one of the best changeups in the minors and a solid slider. There are some durability concerns even beyond this past summer, as he’s yet to reach 100 frames in any season of his professional career. Still, he’s teeming with upside, and his Double-A success could open the door for a big league debut later in 2025 if he can stay healthy.
Roby, 23, has drawn his share of top-100 fanfare as well, though his stock dipped amid shaky results and injury troubles of his own in 2024. FanGraphs ranked him 91th in the game at season’s end, but he’d fallen off most other prominent rankings. The 2020 third-rounder, selected by the Rangers and traded to the Cards in the Jordan Montgomery swap, pitched just 38 1/3 innings with a 6.57 ERA between High-A and Double-A in ’24.
Roby has posted middling ERA numbers in his career but regularly logged impressive rate stats and garnered attention from scouts due to plus raw stuff across the board — headlined by his curveball. Roby needs to improve his command and prove he can handle a starter’s workload, as he’s a bit undersized at 6’1″ and has never reached 105 innings in a pro season.
The 26-year-old Koperniak signed with the Cards as an undrafted free agent in the summer of 2020, following that year’s five-round amateur draft. He spent the whole 2024 season in Triple-A, where he hit .309/.370/.512 with 20 homers, 28 doubles, three triples, five steals, an 8.4% walk rate and an 18.7% strikeout rate. He played all three outfield spots but spent the bulk of his time in left field.
Svanson, 26 in January, was acquired from the Blue Jays in the trade sending Paul DeJong to Toronto. He spent the 2024 season working out of the Double-A bullpen, where he logged 63 2/3 innings of 2.69 ERA ball with a 20.8% strikeout rate, 8.8% walk rate and 52.7% ground-ball rate. He’ll presumably head to Triple-A early in 2025 and is a candidate for a look in the big leagues as soon as this coming season.
Rom, who’ll turn 25 in a few weeks, was acquired from the Orioles in the ’23 trade sending Jack Flaherty to Baltimore. He struggled through eight starts with the Cardinals in 2023, yielding an 8.02 ERA, but missed the entire 2024 season following arthroscopic shoulder surgery. Since he’s already cleared waivers, Rom will stick with the club as a depth option for the upcoming season. He hasn’t had any big league success yet, but he had the look of a potential back-of-the-rotation starter in the Orioles’ system before the shoulder injury ruined his 2024 season.
Tink will be the number two starter next year
2026. And maybe 3 or 4.
2026 rotation could be Gray-Matthews-Pallante-Hence-McGreevy/3 others. Not so shabby.
I would put the Cardinals AAA rotation in 2025 up against anyone else’s in baseball.
Matthews
Robberse
Graceffo
Kloffenstein
Bedell
Rom
With Hence most likely replacing Matthews in the middle of the year. Hjerpe could replace someone else. And McGreevy might be in AAA to start the year as well.
Right now the rotation is essentially:
1. Gray
2. Fedde
3. Pallante
4. Mikolas
5. Matz
I would probably try to extend Fedde, perhaps offering 3/40 plus an option. This helps for next year when Mikolas and Matz are (thankfully) gone. If he doesn’t accept though, I would try to trade him this winter.
Matz and Mikolas would be competing for the 4th spot in the rotation. Winner stays, loser goes to the bullpen as a swing man/long reliever. The 5th spot stays open for a prospect, which is an open competition between McGreevy, Matthews, and Robberse. Winner stays, the others start in AAA.
Next year I’d perhaps look at signing Framber Valdez if he’s available, especially if Fedde isn’t coming back and the team sees good development from its young(ish) position player core this season.
I think one way or another McGreevy is in the rotation on opening day. With this focus on developing players he’s a guy that has to get an opportunity. And I really wouldn’t be surprised if Liberatore gets another chance to start too although that might require an injury.
Fedde I just don’t know who he is. Is he a number 2? 3? 4? I just don’t know. I would give him the 3 years 40 million you suggest but I also wouldn’t mind leaving our options open. Many of those guys af AAA are going to be big league starters. They need a chance.
I agree on Fedde. He was OK, but offense couldn’t get past the 5th inning. I would wait and see how he starts off 2024 before offering him an extension.
if fedde does anything close to last year, or if mikolas or matz do anything remotely close to average they will be traded for whatever the cards can get.
If Fedde, Mikolas and Matz pitch well the Cardinals could win the division.
Yes but can the Cardinals develop pitching.
The Cardinals have done a solid j9b developing pitching. The problem is they get to the big leagues and then they don’t get a shot. I think thats going to change.
Mathews has to be the 40th man!
Maybe he doesn’t need a spot yet because he was recently drafted. I don’t know the rules on this stuff it’s confusing. Matthews certainly is going nowhere except to St Louis here soon.
You are correct, Matthews doesn’t have enough Minor League service time so he isn’t eligible for the rule V draft yet. Had he been, they would have added him to the 40 man roster today. The transactions today were to protect players eligible for the Rule V draft.
I read earlier that he needs to be protected to the 40-man.
I was hoping the Reds would have claimed Drew Rom off waivers and brought him home. He is from right across the Ohio River in Northern Kentucky and went to Fort Thomas Highlands H.S.
The BIG news is Koperniak. Might he actually get a chance? Probably not though he has adjusted to every level in his minor league ascent.
Would have to imaging he’s not far behind on the depth chart though. Walker and Nootbar haven’t been consistent, whether due to injury or poor performance. Aside from Brendan Donovan, I don’t know who else deserves or is capable of playing a corner OF spot
He has earned a chance but he’s older and he hits lefty and that’s not a great fit with the team the way it’s currently constructed. Last year they outfield had tons of injuries if that happens again we will probably see him.
Maybe insurance policy if they trade Burleson? Similar profiles but Koperniak didn’t get much attention being undrafted.
I find it highly unlikely Burleson gets dealt anytime soon. He’s the best defensive 1b on the team as of today.
Need to start Hence in the bullpen until he can prove health and endurance. We had a Cardinals legend start in the bullpen, then head the rotation for many years until he became a C&W singer. So you see what a move to the bullpen can do for you.
Just say no to Gracefoo until he regains his velocity. I believe he lost 2 MPH off his fastball. That won’t work in the Bigs.
Isn’t Fedde a younger Mikolas? I don’t want a repeat of that when we can get a reasonable return from a trade.
I have heard a Jeff Suppan comp for Fedde
They’ve handled Hence like an icicle in the desert. Maybe they know what they’re doing but he’s going to be hitting AAA without ever pitching a standard starter’s workload, even by today’s lower standards.