Cardinals trade Cruz to Kansas City for minor-league infielder; Phillies pick up Bourjos on waivers

One day after signing Brayan Pena to be their backup catcher, the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday traded Tony Cruz to the Kansas City Royals.

The Royals dealt minor-league infielder Jose Martinez to the Cardinals. Martinez, 19, batted .246 with two home runs and 29 RBIs in 63 games in the low minors last season.

Kansas City was seeking an upgrade at catcher and settled on Cruz. Drew Butera had been the backup to Salvador Perez. Butera batted .198 with one home run and five RBIs in 45 games with the Royals.

Cruz, 29, spent the last five seasons in St. Louis and batted .220 with five homers and 58 RBIs in 259 games and 591 at-bats. He batted .204 with two homers and 11 RBIs in a career-high 69 games and 142 at-bats last season.

In another move Wednesday, outfielder Peter Bourjos was dropped from the Cardinals’ 40-man roster and claimed on waivers by the Philadelphia Phillies.

Bourjos was acquired from the Los Angeles Angels in November 2013 along with outfielder Randal Grichuk for third baseman David Freese and reliever Fernando Salas.

St. Louis hoped Bourjos would hit enough to utilize his speed and defensive ability. But Bourjos struggled at the plate in his two seasons, batting a paltry .218 with eight home runs and 37 RBIs in 237 games and 459 at-bats.

Bourjos said before the 2014 season that he expected to steal 40 bases, but he got off to a slow start and never was able to capitalize on his opportunities.

Bourjos, who earned $1.65 million in 2015, and Cruz were both arbitration-eligible. The Cardinals’ 40-man roster stands at 35 with the winter meetings scheduled to begin Monday in Nashville, Tenn.

Other arbitration-eligible Cardinals are Brandon Moss, Trevor Rosenthal, Steve Cishek, Matt Adams and Seth Maness.

This story was originally published December 2, 2015 at 3:35 PM with the headline "Cardinals trade Cruz to Kansas City for minor-league infielder; Phillies pick up Bourjos on waivers."