Offseason In Review: St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals brought in some new faces and some old friends, as they look for a 15th straight winning season and fourth consecutive playoff berth.
Major League Signings
- Steven Matz, SP: four years, $44MM
- Drew VerHagen, SP/RP: two years, $5.5MM
- Corey Dickerson, OF: one year, $5MM
- Albert Pujols, 1B: one year, $2.5MM
- T.J. McFarland, RP: one year, $2.5MM
- Nick Wittgren, RP: one year, $1.2MM
2022 spending: $22.2MM
Total spending: $60.7MM
Options Exercised
- None
Trades and Claims
- Claimed SP/RP Ljay Newsome off waivers from Mariners (later outrighted to Triple-A)
- Claimed SP/RP Packy Naughton off waivers from Angels
Extensions
- Signed CF Harrison Bader to a two-year, 10.4MM deal to cover two arbitration seasons
Notable Minor League Signings
- Kyle Ryan, Aaron Brooks (later selected to the 40-man roster), Cory Spangengerg, Zach McAllister, Blake Parker, James Naile, Anderson Tejeda
Notable Losses
- Luis Garcia, Carlos Martinez, J.A. Happ, Jon Lester, Matt Carpenter, Kwang Hyun Kim, Andrew Miller, Austin Dean, Wade LeBlanc, Justin Williams
Before the offseason even began, a lot had already happened in the world of the Cardinals. Yadier Molina signed a one-year extension in August and then quickly declared that 2022 would be his final season. In September, Nolan Arenado went public with the fact that he would not be opting out of his contract. In October, just a couple of days before the team was about to face the Dodgers in the Wild Card game, they reached a one-year extension with Adam Wainwright, thus keeping in place one of the most consistent batteries in the history of the game. If Wainwright and Molina can start 20 games together this year, they will pass the Tigers battery of Mickey Lolich and Bill Freehan for most in baseball history. (Wainwright, it should be noted, has not announced whether the 2022 campaign will be his last.)
Despite all that continuity, there was one major shakeup, with manager Mike Shildt being fired about a week after the Cards lost to the Dodgers in the Wild Card game. This was quite surprising at the time, as there hadn’t been any indication a change of this nature had been imminent. The Cardinals made the postseason in all three of his full seasons at the helm, and on the heels of last September’s 17-game winning streak, there’d even been talk of a potential extension for Shildt after the season. Within less than two weeks of the firing, the club had replaced him from within, promoting bench coach Oliver Marmol to the job.
As the calendar flipped to November and the World Series ended, awards season began, with the Cardinals becoming the first ever team to win five Gold Gloves, highlighting the tremendous defense that helped them be so successful. This defense would go on to be a central part of their offseason moves. It was even reported recently that the club considered moving in the fences of Busch Stadium to make it more hitter-friendly, but ultimately decided against it as that would negate their defensive advantage. With the position player core almost entirely intact for 2022, their offseason would largely be focused on pitching, as well as the new designated hitter slot.
Less than 24 hours into free agency, the club pounced and re-signed lefty T.J. McFarland. He had a nice season in 2021, throwing 38 2/3 innings with a 2.56 ERA. Though he didn’t strike out many hitters (14.6%), his 63.7% ground-ball rate made him an excellent fit in front of that elite Cardinal infield.
On the starting pitching side, the Cardinals reportedly had interest in players such as Andrew Heaney, Alex Cobb and Nick Martinez, but ultimately agreed to a deal with Steven Matz. His four-year, $44MM guarantee beat MLBTR’s three-year, $27MM projection in both years and average annual value. Matz doesn’t have McFarland’s elite ground-ball numbers, but he’s a bit better than most in that regard. He has a career grounder rate of 47%, and his 45.5% mark in 2021 checked in a couple points ahead of last year’s league-wide average of 42.7%. Matz doesn’t have huge strikeout totals, but he owns a career walk rate of 7.1% and was down to 6.6% in 2021. With that golden defense behind him, it’s possible he could improve upon 2021’s 3.82 ERA, as solid as that was.
The Cards further bolstered their pitching staff after the lockout by signing Drew VerHagen, the first MLB signing after the transactions freeze lifted. He had spent the previous two seasons pitching in Japan and used his sinker to record a 53.9% ground-ball rate in that time, continuing with the offseason’s broader acquisition pattern. Nick Wittgren was then added to the bullpen mix. He isn’t specifically a ground-ball machine, but does have good control. He’s only had a walk rate higher than 7.1% in one of his big league seasons thus far. Aaron Brooks, selected to the roster in late March, fits this profile as well. He spent the past two seasons pitching in Korea, with a mediocre strikeout rate but a minuscule 4.4% walk rate and incredibly posting a ground-ball rate above 75% in both years.
During the lockout, it was reported that the Cardinals had some interest in Colin Moran. Given the likelihood of the universal designated hitter being implemented in the new CBA, Moran made some sense as a left-handed bench/DH option. However, after the lockout ended, Moran signed with the Reds and the Cards landed Corey Dickerson for the job instead. The outfielder had slumped in the shortened 2020 campaign and didn’t have a great start to 2021 with the Marlins, but Dickerson finished well after a midseason trade to the Blue Jays.
The Cards had one final move up their sleeves, a move that might have been small in terms of cost but huge in terms of emotion. Franchise icon Albert Pujols, who spent the best years of his Hall-of-Fame career in St. Louis, headed back to Missouri after a decade in California. Shortly after signing, like Molina, he announced that this would be his last season.
Although Pujols’ productivity slipped during his time with the Angels, the Dodgers picked him up last year and showed he could still be a useful part of a team in a limited role. They tried to mostly send him up to the plate to face left-handed pitching, allowing him to hit .254/.299/.460 as a Dodger, around league average production. His overall work against lefties, a .294/.336/.603 output, further proves that he can still produce in the right role. Pujols will likely serve a similar bench/platoon/DH role with the Cards, but the image of him reuniting with Molina and Wainwright will resonate among Cardinals fans beyond his on-the-field contributions.
In the end, there’s a lot of continuity for the Cardinals. They’ve lost some now-retired veterans like Jon Lester and Andrew Miller, but added in a few fresh arms in Matz, VerHagen, Wittgren and Brooks. Although they’re not marquee names, they have a chance to succeed based on the marriage of their particular skills with what the Cardinals already have in house. With the Pirates deep in a rebuild, the Reds cutting costs and the Cubs retooling, St. Louis seems well-positioned for another strong season in the NL Central. In the past 21 years, they’ve only posted a losing record once (78-84 in 2007), have made the playoffs 15 times and won the World Series twice. Wainwright, Molina and Pujols have been huge contributors in that stretch, and this year will provide at least two members of that trio a chance to put the finishing touches on their legacies and an incredible run of success for the franchise.
Cardinals Discussing Multi-Year Extension With Tyler O’Neill
Tyler O’Neill is the Cardinals’ only arbitration-eligible player who has yet to reach an agreement for the 2022 season, and Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports (Twitter link) that O’Neill’s arb hearing will take place in the first week of May. However, the possibility exists that the hearing could be avoided, as the two sides are still in talks about a multi-year extension.
It was less than two weeks ago that the Cardinals reached an extension with another outfielder, as Harrison Bader inked a two-year, $10.4MM deal that also allowed both sides to sidestep an arbitration hearing. Bader’s deal covered his final two years of arbitration eligibility, whereas O’Neill is only in the first of three arb-eligible years. It isn’t known whether or not the negotiations are centered around a two- or three-year pact to just address O’Neill’s arbitration years, or if perhaps a longer-term contract could be under discussion.
The Cardinals have been proactive in extending building-block players over the years, and O’Neill’s 2021 breakout makes a good case that he is worth such a long-term extension. O’Neill hit .286/.352/.560 with 34 home runs over 537 plate appearances last season, translating to a whopping 144 wRC+ and 150 OPS+. Between that offensive pop, plus baserunning (O’Neill stole 15 bases in 19 attempts), and his second consecutive Gold Glove in left field, O’Neill was somewhat quietly one of baseball’s best all-around players, and only 12 players topped O’Neill’s 5.4 fWAR in 2021.
This big season didn’t exactly come out of nowhere, as O’Neill was a top-100 ranked prospect. However, he had hit a far more modest .229/.291/.422 in 450 big league PA prior to the 2021 season, and strikeouts have been a continual problem for the Canadian slugger. O’Neill posted a 31.3% strikeout rate in 2021, putting him in the fourth percentile of all players according to Statcast.
With this in mind, St. Louis could opt to just explore a shorter-term extension for now, in order to gain cost certainty over at least one more of O’Neill’s arbitration years but still coming short of a lengthy commitment. As noted, this is only O’Neill’s first trip through the arb process, and since he isn’t scheduled to hit free agency until after the 2024 season, the Cardinals may not feel an immediate rush to work out a big extension. O’Neill is looking for a $4.15MM salary in 2022, while the team submitted a $3.4MM figure. (MLBTR’s Matt Swartz projected O’Neill to land $3.5MM.)
NL Central Notes: Happ, Cardinals, Sims, Solano, Castillo, Minor
Cubs left fielder Ian Happ was removed from today’s 9-0 win over the Brewers after being hit in the left kneecap by a Trevor Gott pitch during the seventh inning. X-rays were negative, as Happ told NBC Sports Chicago’s Tim Stebbins and other reporters after the game. “It’s going to be pretty stiff [Sunday], I’m sure, but right now it’s not too bad,” Happ said. It would seem as if Happ is questionable for tomorrow’s lineup, and since the Cubs don’t play on Monday, Happ has some more time to heal up and receive further treatment to determine if an IL trip could be necessary.
The Cubs/Brewers series has thus far seen seven batters hit by pitches over two games, which has some a frequent occurrence in recent meetings between the two division rivals. The result was a skirmish that saw both benches and bullpens empty after Andrew McCutchen was hit by a Keegan Thompson pitch in the eighth inning, but ultimately nothing but harsh words were exchanged.
More from the NL Central…
- Busch Stadium is known as a pitcher-friendly ballpark, and the Cardinals have added to this built-in run suppression by creating a tremendous defensive roster. As Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch examines, the club has embraced this to the point of deciding against moving in the walls at their ballpark, even after commissioning a study to examine the possible impact. “We started to think we may have an edge here with this particular configuration,” chairman Bill DeWitt III said. “In theory, a bigger ballpark, more balls in play, a defense that catches anything — why don’t we put this on ice and see how things develop? We have an elite defense and we’re contemplating doing something that might minimize the impact of that defense. Let’s not.” Goold’s piece breaks down some of the findings of the study, with the Cards looking at how potential alterations to any of the dimensions would affect everything from fan experience to on-field performance.
- Reds manager David Bell provided reporters (including MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon) with several updates on injured players over the last two days. Lucas Sims is on pace to head to Triple-A this week after throwing a live BP session at the team’s extended Spring Training camp, and Bell set April 20 or 22 as the target dates for Sims’ likely return. Donovan Solano is out with a left hamstring injury, but Boone said Solano has been doing some running drills and even took some swings during some simulated game sessions.
- Mike Minor and Luis Castillo both began the season on the IL due to shoulder soreness, and while Castillo was initially thought to have the quicker return of the two, Minor has now seemingly moved ahead after throwing a 35-pitch simulated game on Friday. Minor could now be ready for Triple-A work or at least another sim game, while Castillo still has to get a second bullpen session under his belt. In terms of projections, the Reds are now aiming for Castillo to be back by late April, while Minor could make his debut closer to the middle of the month.
Cardinals Outright Brandon Waddell
Cardinals southpaw Brandon Waddell has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Memphis, according to the team’s transactions tracker at MLB.com. That was the corresponding move for the previously-reported selection of rookie righty Andre Pallante.
Waddell, 27, has pitched 12 2/3 innings at the big league level over the past two seasons. He’s spread that rather limited work over four teams, pitching for each of the Pirates, Twins, Orioles and Cards. Waddell has allowed nine runs on 16 hits and 11 walks with nine strikeouts. He’s also struggled in his Triple-A career, posting a 5.77 ERA in 156 innings over three seasons at the minors’ top level.
Nevertheless, that Waddell changed hands a few times last season demonstrates he was of interest to multiple clubs not long ago. The University of Virginia product was once regarded as one of the more promising arms in the Pittsburgh system, and he owns a 3.45 ERA in 274 Double-A innings. Waddell doesn’t have the requisite service time to refuse an outright assignment, so he’ll head to Memphis and try to work his way back into the major league mix.
Jordan Hicks To Begin Season In Cardinals’ Rotation
The Cardinals will open the season with former closer Jordan Hicks as their No. 5 starter, reports John Denton of MLB.com (Twitter link). The flamethrowing sinkerballer has appeared in 112 Major League games but will be making his first big league start whenever he takes the mound this year.
There’s been talk of bringing Hicks to camp and stretching him out as a starter dating back to late last season, but it’s nevertheless something of a surprise that he’ll be tabbed for rotation work to begin the season. Were it not for injuries to Jack Flaherty and Alex Reyes, Hicks may well have opened the year as a member of the St. Louis bullpen once again, but instead it seems he’s beaten out offseason additions Drew VerHagen and Aaron Brooks for the final starting job behind Adam Wainwright, Steven Matz, Dakota Hudson and Miles Mikolas.
Working as a starting pitcher isn’t an entirely foreign role for Hicks, it should be noted. He appeared in 37 minor league games before making his big league debut, and 34 of those came out of the rotation. The Cards are still in the process of building Hicks up, as Denton adds that the Cards are hoping he’ll be able to complete two to three innings his first time out against the Royals next Tuesday.
The move of Hicks into the rotation comes on the heels of a two-year stretch in which the right-hander has thrown just 10 Major League innings. The 25-year-old righty underwent Tommy John surgery in June 2019, sidelining him for the remainder of that season and setting the stage for a return in summer of the 2020 season. Of course, the 2020 season wound up not even beginning until late July. Hicks, who had experienced a slight setback in his rehab and was deemed a high-risk individual due to Type 1 diabetes, opted out of that 2020 season, citing health and safety concerns.
He returned to the mound early in the 2021 campaign but landed back on the shelf just a month into the season, due to soreness in his surgically repaired right elbow. Hicks was initially shut down from throwing for a six-week period, but he wound up unable to resume throwing until late August. At that point, the Cardinals opted for a cautious approach to his rehab rather than rushing him back and dropping him into the middle of a postseason push. Hicks did pitch in a pair of games in the Arizona Fall League, and he’s been healthy enough this spring that the Cards feel comfortable pushing him in a new role.
Whether the move to a starting role is permanent or not remains to be seen, but it’s easy to see why the Cardinals are intrigued by the idea of Hicks shouldering a larger workload. The right-hander is one of the game’s most electric talents, averaging a blistering 100.6 mph on a sinker that has helped him post a 63% ground-ball rate in his career. Hicks doesn’t rack up strikeouts quite like some might expect for a pitcher with his velocity (22.5% strikeout rate), and his 13.4% walk rate is a bit concerning. Still, a ground-ball pitcher with this type of velocity and the Cardinals’ all-world infield defense behind him could take his game to a new level if he’s healthy and able to work a notable slate of innings in 2022.
Cardinals To Select Andre Pallante, Place Jack Flaherty On Injured List
The Cardinals announced this morning that right-hander Andre Pallante has made the Opening Day roster. They’ll need to make a corresponding 40-man roster move in the coming days to formally select the 23-year-old Pallante’s contract. Additionally, the Cards have formally placed right-hander Jack Flaherty on the 10-day injured list. It’s been known for some time now that Flaherty will miss the beginning of the season, and his absence figures to be a good bit longer than 10 days.
Pallante was the Cards fourth-round pick in 2019. The righty had pitched to a 2.59 ERA in three seasons at UC-Irvine, working out of the rotation for his final two campaigns with the Anteaters. While his fastball typically sat in the low-90s with UCI, he’s seen a velocity spike in pro ball. Baseball America wrote this winter that he averaged north of 95 MPH on his heater last season. BA also credited the 23-year-old with an above-average slider and named him the #16 prospect in the St. Louis organization.
Because of the canceled minor league campaign in 2020, last year marked Pallante’s first full season of professional game action. He spent the bulk of the year with Double-A Springfield, where he started 21 games and worked 94 1/3 innings. Pallante’s 19.4% strikeout percentage and 10% walk rate at that level aren’t especially exciting, but he induced grounders on nearly 60% of balls in play against him. That’s no doubt of appeal to a St. Louis front office that placed an emphasis on acquiring ground-ball specialists throughout the winter in an effort to maximize the effect of arguably the game’s top defensive infield.
Pallante will break camp with the big league club, presumably as a bullpen option. The Cards have a top four in the rotation of Adam Wainwright, Steven Matz, Dakota Hudson and Miles Mikolas with Flaherty out. Drew VerHagen appears to be the favorite for the fifth spot, with Aaron Brooks and Jake Woodford also seemingly ahead of Pallante on the rotation depth chart. Pallante only has two career Triple-A appearances under his belt, and it’s possible he’ll find himself back in the minors at some point. While the Cardinals will carry him on the Opening Day roster, he still has all three option years remaining and could bounce between St. Louis and Triple-A Memphis.
Flaherty recently underwent a platelet-rich plasma on an ailing throwing shoulder. His precise timetable for a return remains unclear, but he’ll surely need some time to progress through a throwing program and perhaps embark on a minor league rehab assignment. It’ll be the second consecutive season impacted by injury for Flaherty, who was limited to 17 outings by oblique and shoulder issues.
Wade LeBlanc Announces Retirement
Left-hander Wade LeBlanc has decided to retire, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reports (Twitter link). The 37-year-old LeBlanc is hanging up his cleats after pitching in parts of 13 Major League seasons with nine different teams, as well as a stint in Japan with the Saitama Seibu Lions in 2015.
Originally a second-round pick for the Padres in the 2006 draft, LeBlanc has pitched in a number of different roles over his long career. The southpaw has seen work as a full-time starter, full-time reliever, and most often a little bit of both, with teams usually eyeing LeBlanc in various types of swingman or long relief roles. Interestingly, despite the “veteran lefty” mold, LeBlanc didn’t see much specialist work since left-handed batters actually did more damage (.843 OPS) against him than right-handed batters (.763 OPS).
Never a big strikeout pitcher or a high-velocity arm, LeBlanc relied more on off-speed pitches than his fastball, and got out by generating soft contact. When LeBlanc was getting that weak contact and keeping the ball in the park, he was quite effective, though home runs became an increasing problem in recent years.
Of LeBlanc’s nine MLB teams, his longest stints came with the Mariners (333 1/3 IP), Padres (293 1/3 IP), and Marlins (117 1/3 IP). He most recently saw action with the Cardinals, signing a contract in June when the Cards were besieged with pitching injuries.
LeBlanc helped stabilize things by posting a 3.61 ERA over his 42 1/3 innings in a St. Louis uniform, helping the team tread water until eventually going on a major hot streak down the stretch. Unfortunately, LeBlanc wasn’t there to enjoy that success, as he was sidelined with an elbow injury and was reportedly set to undergo some type of medical procedure to address his elbow in September.
LeBlanc will retire with a 4.54 career ERA over 931 1/3 Major League innings. We at MLBTR congratulate LeBlanc on an excellent career and we wish him the best in his post-playing endeavors.
Cardinals, Harrison Bader Avoid Arbitration With Two-Year Extension
The Cardinals and outfielder Harrison Bader have agreed to a two-year, $10.4MM contract extension, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (all Twitter links). The deal will cover Bader’s final two years of salary arbitration eligibility, and he’ll now receive a $1MM signing bonus up front, and $4.7MM salaries in both 2022 and 2023. Up to $2.25MM in incentive clauses can also be earned for the 2023 season, based on plate appearances or games-played thresholds. Bader is represented by Vayner Sports.
There was a sizable gap between Bader and the Cardinals when the two sides submitted their arbitration figures, as Bader was looking for $4.8MM and the team countered with a $3.8MM number. (Both figures were higher than the $3.7MM that MLBTR’s Matt Swartz projected for Bader’s 2022 salary.) The extension now means that a hearing is no longer necessary, and Bader’s arbitration process can be sidestepped entirely next winter.
It’s a nice payday for Bader, who has gone from being a backup outfielder to something of an under-the-radar five-tool talent. There was never any question about Bader’s defense, and his excellent center field glovework was recognized with his first Gold Glove Award in 2021. Bader is also a strong baserunner and could hit left-handed pitching, but questions persisted as to whether or not he could produce against right-handers.
Bader answered the critics last season, batting .273/.331/.458 with 12 homers over 326 PA against righties. Oddly, this slash line actually topped his numbers against southpaws, yet the sum total was still a .267/.324/.460 slash and 16 homers over 401 plate appearances (110 wRC+, 116 OPS+). Between this above-average offense and great defense, Bader was a 3.4 fWAR player in only 103 games, as he missed almost two full months of the season with forearm and rib injuries.
This isn’t to say that Bader is necessarily a finished product at the plate, as he had subpar hard-contact numbers and didn’t generate many walks last season. His .331 wOBA was also far higher than his .295 xwOBA, so there was certainly some good fortune at play. Still, even if Bader’s offense takes a step backwards, his defense is alone good enough to merit at least a part-time outfield role.
Between Bader in center, fellow Gold Glover Tyler O’Neill in left field, and star prospect-turned-breakout player Dylan Carlson in right field, St. Louis has one of baseball’s best young outfields, and this trio was a major reason why the Cardinals pulled off a late-season surge to make the playoffs. The Cards augmented this group of right-handed hitters with lefty-swinging Corey Dickerson this winter, plus Lars Nootbaar and the versatile Tommy Edman will be getting some time on the grass.
The Bader extension takes care of one of the Cards’ two outstanding arb cases, as O’Neill has also yet to agree on his deal for the 2022 season. However, MLB.com’s John Denton hears from a source that “progress is being made” toward an agreement with O’Neill.
Cardinals Release Ricardo Sanchez, Jesus Cruz
The Cardinals have released left-hander Ricardo Sanchez and right-hander Jesus Cruz. Neither hurler pitched in the majors in 2021, as Sanchez was recovering from Tommy John surgery and Cruz spent the season at the Cards’ alternate training camp in April and then with Triple-A Memphis.
Both pitchers made their MLB debuts in 2020, with Sanchez getting a slightly longer look in the Show. Sanchez pitched 5 1/3 innings over three appearances with St. Louis, while Cruz was up in pure “cup of coffee” form with one inning of work in a single game.
Sanchez’s debut season was also set back by a positive COVID-19 diagnosis, as he was one of many Cardinals players caught up in an outbreak that ravaged the roster. The southpaw was also sidelined by elbow problems in August that eventually resulted in the TJ procedure in October 2020. Going by the normal 12-15 month Tommy John recovery timeline, Sanchez should be ready to pitch again, though it isn’t known if he experienced any setbacks in his rehab.
Sanchez is a veteran of seven pro seasons, mostly spent in the Braves’ farm system. The left-hander has a 4.52 ERA over 517 1/3 career innings in the minors, though he had gradually improved the control issues that plagued him in his early days.
Cruz was an international signing for the Cardinals in the 2017-18 July 2 class, spending some time in the Mexican League before joining the Cards organization. Cruz posted a 3.90 ERA over 210 minor league innings, amassing a strong 29.86% strikeout rate, but with a high 13.38% walk rate. Troublingly, Cruz’s control issues have gotten worse as he has worked his way up the minor league ladder.
Cardinals Outright Johan Quezada
MARCH 30: St. Louis announced that Quezada has cleared outright waivers and been assigned to Double-A Springfield (h/t to Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat). He doesn’t have the requisite service time to refuse an outright assignment, so he’ll remain in the organization.
MARCH 29: The Cardinals have designated right-hander Johan Quezada for assignment, tweets Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. His roster spot will go to Albert Pujols, whose one-year deal to return home to St. Louis is now official.
Originally an international signee with the Twins back in 2012, Quezada didn’t surface in the Majors until 2020, after he’d signed with the Marlins as a minor league free agent and found himself selected to the MLB roster that summer. He tallied just three innings of work and yielded three runs — all coming on one swing of the bat from Rafael Devers. He’s since bounced to the Phillies and the Cardinals via waivers.
Although it’s been nine years since the now 27-year-old Quezada signed his first professional contract with the Twins, he’s been limited to just 207 innings between the minors and the big leagues. That’s partly due to his work in short relief stints but also due to various injuries and the absence of a 2020 minor league season. Quezada averaged better than 97 mph on his heater in his brief Major League look with Miami, but command issues have plagued him throughout his minor league career, where he’s walked more than 16% of his opponents.
Last season, Quezada split his time between the Cardinals’ Triple-A, Double-A and Rookie-level affiliates while spending considerable time on the minor league 60-day IL. He logged 24 innings when healthy but posted just a 6.38 ERA in that time. That said, Quezada fanned a quarter of his opponents, walked a much-improved 8.0% of them and posted huge ground-ball rates that generally align with his career mark of 56.7%. The Cardinals will have a week to trade Quezada, place him on outright waivers, or release him.