May 16: Aardsma decided not to opt out yesterday and will stay with Triple-A Memphis for the time being, tweets Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com.
May 7: Cardinals right-hander David Aardsma, currently with the team’s Triple-A affiliate in Memphis, has a May 15 opt-out date in his current minor league contract, MLBTR has learned (Twitter link).
The 32-year-old Aardsma signed with the Cardinals late in Spring Training after asking for his release from the Indians and has been solid for the Redbirds so far. Aardsma has a 1.98 ERA with 7.9 K/9, 4.6 BB/9 and three saves through his first 13 2/3 innings in Memphis.
Last season marked Aardsma’s first extensive work in the Majors since Tommy John surgery and labrum repair surgery slowed his career in 2011. He posted a 4.31 ERA with 8.2 K/9, 4.3 BB/9 and a 32.8 percent ground-ball rate in 39 2/3 innings with the Mets in 2013. Though his average fastball velocity was down from his career mark of 93.7 mph, he still averaged 91.2 mph and notched an 11.7 percent swinging-strike rate that was actually better than his career mark of 10.7 percent.
