St. Louis Cardinals begin what figures to be active off-season with initial roster moves

With no fanfare and no announcement beyond a small note in an activity log, the St. Louis Cardinals made their first roster moves of the off-season on Tuesday as they attempt to tidy up around the edges in preparation for what has been promised to be a winter of significant changes.

Righty reliever Kodi Whitley and utility infielder Kramer Robertson both cleared waivers and were assigned outright to Memphis, removing them from the 40-man roster in preparation for some procedural additions and some which will accompany well-earned promotions.

The retirements of Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols were also officially filed, bringing to an end two storied careers destined to end in enshrinement in Cooperstown.

The Cardinals ended the season with pitchers Alex Reyes and Drew VerHagen on the 60-day injured list, and they will be procedurally returned to the roster when free agency opens five days after the conclusion of the World Series — or, at least, VerHagen will.

Reyes, an All-Star closer in 2021, suffered a frayed labrum ahead of the spring training in 2022 and had the injury surgically repaired. He finished the season working through a rehab program, but President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak said during last week’s end of season press conference that there’s concern about Reyes’s ability to meaningfully contribute in 2023.

Without that assurance, Reyes, who is arbitration-eligible for the final time, is not likely to be tendered a contract, releasing him to free agency.

With both starter José Quintana and outfielder Corey Dickerson set to reach free agency themselves, the Cardinals will find themselves with a bevy of available roster spots to protect players at lower levels of the minors who will have to be added to the 40-man in order to protect them from selection in the upcoming Rule 5 draft, which was canceled before 2022 due to the lockout of the players by the owners.

Two players sent by the club to the Arizona Fall League — catcher Pedro Pages and left-hander Connor Thomas — are likely to receive that protection.

Pages (pronounced PAH-hay) slugged 10 home runs in just 291 at bats split between double-A Springfield and triple-A Memphis and proved himself to be a deft handler of a pitching staff. Among those he handled was Thomas, who at one point in the season was prepared for a possible promotion that never came.

Thomas led Memphis with 25 starts, finishing just two outs behind Tommy Parsons for the team lead in innings pitched. His performance in Arizona has more than justified the club’s decision to send him there; in his first four starts for the Salt River Rafters, he allowed just three earned runs.

Cardinals prospects Gómez, Paniagua

A third candidate for promotion is outfielder Moisés Gómez, who broke a franchise record with 39 home runs in a single minor league season, spread across Springfield and Memphis. Gómez was such a sensation that he too was considered for promotion to the majors; indeed, he was informed he was headed up for St. Louis’s trip to Toronto in July only to have the call rescinded after it was discovered he lacked the proper work visa to play in Canada.

Signed as a minor league free agent last winter after his release from the Tampa Bay organization, Gómez may not be a finished product, but his best tool may be too potent to ignore. Those 39 home runs were accompanied by 174 strikeouts in 501 plate appearances, an easy-to-calculate 34% strikeout rate. He’s also not a particularly strong defender even as a corner outfielder, though with the designated hitter permanently cemented, missteps matter less, particularly when accompanied by an eye-popping home run total.

Righty Inohan Paniagua, a leading candidate to be named the organization’s minor league pitcher of the year, is also likely to receive strong consideration. A late season promotion from Palm Beach to Peoria saw him take a small step back, but his 2.81 ERA and 145 strikeouts in 137 ⅔ innings are numbers that jump off the page.

Setting foundation for bigger things

Despite having never pitched above High-A, Paniagua is Rule 5 eligible this winter for the first time due to his having signed young as an international free agent from the Dominican Republic. The Cardinals have generally acted to protect high upside arms in the winter since San Diego snatched righty Luis Perdomo somewhat unexpectedly ahead of the 2016 season.

There will be further non-tender decisions and a great deal of roster jockeying ahead of and throughout the upcoming general managers’ and winter meetings. With a deadline of November 18 to add players to the 40-man to guarantee their protection from selection in the Rule 5, often times under the radar waiver claims or small trades are formed in the crucible of a coming deadline.

The Cardinals, for their part, have promised an active and impactful off-season. It’s the smallest moves which form the foundations for those significant decisions.

This story was originally published November 3, 2022 at 7:00 AM.