The Cardinals announced Wednesday that they’ve designated right-hander Dominic Leone for assignment. St. Louis also selected the contracts of righty Jake Woodford, infielder Elehuris Montero and right-hander Alvaro Seijas.
Leone’s two seasons with the Cardinals didn’t pan out as the organization hoped when acquiring him from Toronto; in 64 2/3 innings as a Cardinal, he pitched to an ugly 5.15 ERA. Leone did manage to punch out 10 hitters per nine innings pitched, but he struggled with walks (4.2 BB/9), home runs (1.7 HR/9) and, in 2019, stranding baserunners (68.2 percent).
The 28-year-old Leone had been eligible for arbitration and was projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to be in line for a $1.6MM salary in 2020. Already a non-tender candidate, he was instead cut loose a couple weeks ahead of the early-December tender deadline. The Cardinals will have a week to trade him, release him or pass him through outright waivers. Anecdotally, both players the Cardinals acquired from the Blue Jays prior to the 2018 season in exchange for Randal Grichuk have been designated for assignment in the past hour, as the Royals just designated Conner Greene minutes ago. (Kansas City claimed him from St. Louis last November.)
Both Montero (No. 4) and Woodford (No. 13) rank inside the Cardinals’ top 30 prospects in the most recent rankings at MLB.com. Montero, 21, struggled through a miserable season in Double-A but is regarded as a strong-armed third baseman with plus raw power. Given the pitcher-friendly nature of Double-A in 2019 and Montero’s young age relative to the competition he faced in that setting, the Cards were undeterred by his struggles.
Woodford, meanwhile, posted passable numbers in a deadly Triple-A setting for pitchers, working to a 4.14 ERA with 7.8 K/9, 4.4 BB/9 and a 36.2 percent grounder rate in 26 starts (151 2/3 innings). He’ll give the Cards some rotation depth for the upcoming season.
The 21-year-old Seijas hasn’t pitched above Class-A Advanced, although as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch points out (via Twitter), the team’s unexpected loss of righty Luis Perdomo a few seasons ago may have contributed to aggressively protecting Seijas despite the fact that he’s a ways from MLB readiness.
The Blue Jays should try to bring him back on a minor league deal. He was really good for them in ‘17. Maybe reuniting with Pete Walker would help get him back on track.
Greene and Leone dfa’d on the same day.
Not a huge Grichuk fan but it appears the Jays did alright in that trade
If you mean getting Grichuk for nothing is ok, you’re right.
did they? think they owe him 50 mil, Cards owe…?
Wasn’t owed that when they got him.
Im 99 percent sure that Blue Jays Cardinals trade was not before 2016.
Correct — it was before 2018. Thanks for that fix. Trying to keep up with all the moves that are going to be churning out here in the next couple hours and rushed that a bit. Appreciate the heads up.
We understand. It’s a busy time. You guys (judging by the chats especially) must be really fast typists!
I guess Max Scrock will be exposed again but he might get scooped up this time with his added defensive versatility & more over, ability to get on base not to mention the adding of a 26th roster spot…
Max is so “underexposed ” that Baseball Reference doesn’t list him so he will probably be passed over again…..
Huh, MLB does & even mentions him as a possible selection but cool story dude…
He gets more exposure when his name is spelled properly. It’s “Schrock.”
Cards probably would like a time machine for this one
They don’t need one, if the cards want Grichuk back I’m sure Atkins and co. would love to ship him back for next to nothing
For a terrible hitting Grichuck? No thanks
Yeah, who needs Grichuk when you have Harrison Bourjos?
Grichuk for Carpenter. Done.
feel like Elehuris could have been safely left off the 40 man this offseason given his lack of experience and AA struggles
He’s rated as their number 4 prospect, if they leave him exposed he’s absolutely gone. He has had just over 200 plate appearances at the AA level, not exactly enough to write him off. M
If you mean getting Grichuk for nothing is ok, you’re right.
It stinks being a Cardinals fan and having a manager who cares more about thoroughly cooking the bacon at his Cracker Barrel management job than he does at managing a team full of all stars who can’t even get a couple of hits in the NLCS. Mike Shildt is awful.
Uh, Schildt won NL manager of the year. But yeah, he is terrible at managing.
He’s a nobody who is too focused on the restaurant. 6 of the everyday players to start the season are allstars…but yeah he’s the best manager ever.
Maybe go root fir the pirates and your complaining will mesh well rather than a team that’s always competitive.
Who are these 6 all stars?
That’s easy, these guys have all been all-stars:
1 Fowler
2 Ozuna
3 Molina
4 Carpenter
5 Dejong
6 Goldschmidt
IF you think the cardinals were even good enough to get as far as we need you live in the oculus…we simply played our hearts out every bit to the braves. we were gassed. they played better and were still riding the highs of beating LA.
If we dont make an impact trade or signing we will be far worse. Come back to reality.
The reality is an awful manager. This isn’t the cracker barrel.
How is he in the kitchen?
The bacon is chewy but tasty…the sausage is on-point.
Manager of the Year to a guy who didn’t even get the most 1st place votes. Great award.
I agree…just like cracker barrel awards employee of the month to my 92 year old grandma who worked 3 days in the month and only greeted guests.
I ate at his restaurant after a wrestle mania event, it was a terrible experience. The food was all over cooked and cold and then my young son was in the bathroom when Hacksaw Jim Dugan(who I thought was a man of the people) exposed himself before performing a sexual act on Rey Mysterio Jr. I will never return to his restaurant or vote for him for manager of the year.
I think you are mixing up Schildt with Maddon, who was promoting his restaurant during a live interview in the middle of a game.
Schildt doesn’t have a restaurant, he’s been a baseball man since he worked in the mailroom as a pre-teen, haven’t ya heard?
At least his restaurant doesn’t have 2000 feet of foreign made junk when you walk in.
You can say what you like about Shildt but I’ll be damned if I’m going to sit back and let you bring bacon into this. Leave bacon out of it!!!!
Bacon…bacon…i smell bacon.
What? He was manager of the year.
Yeah…and I’m a pirate.
Maybe a butt pirate
you probably would pass up a texas roadhouse for a crackle barrel.
The Grinch is almost unstoppable this time of year.
Maybe the Cardinals should start cheating again so they can be relevant?
And the Astros were so mother Theresa when the cardinals IT dude used their passwords. Mike Shildt will never be promoted from Cracker Barrel to the real big show (Shoneys).
What does this have to do with the Astros? The cardinals have no history with them as they play in completely different leagues. The best fans in baseball my arse
U must be biggest Mike Schilt cracker barrel fan in the world to make a cut low crack at me like that. Get over yourself…get the net…da dude is awful and has made all star players worse.
No history? Are you new to baseball? They spent over half their time in the NL.
Learn about the game little boy, the astros were an expansion team in 2013 and have spent all of their time in the American League
BigJohn, The Houston Astros were not an expansion team in 2013. They moved from the National League to the American League in 2013. The organization has been around since 1962.
Astros played like an expansion team in 2013. Big John was 50 years late on his comment.
Not sure where you’re from CardsfaninSpringfield but the Peyote must be spectacular for you to spit such nonsense. You’re probably one of the assclowns that voted for Shildt for manager if the year
BigJohn, not even worth my time to comment.
Says the drunk who keeps commenting…silly shildt defender.
Dominic Leone…..Next Brett Cecil. Cardinals have already unloaded Gregerson, Holland and Leake plus cash to other teams. Now Mozeliak needs to find a way to dump his other biggest signing blunders in Fowler and Carpenter. I wouldn’t be disappointed in just giving them away and eating their contracts so Shildt could put some one in ther place who is healthier and hustles like their hair is on fire!!!! It definitely would make for a better line up.
You’re awfully sour at Fowler and Carpenter for having one terrible year each. Fowler was a very decent player this past season, while Carpenter has been worth every penny prior to 2019 and could very easily have a bounceback year of his own.
Fowler is indeed being overpaid, but as it is, he’s the only sure thing the Cardinals have for their 2020 outfield right now. Are you seriously suggesting the Cardinals should replace him with someone like O’Neill, who has been nothing more than a Grichuk clone so far, or Martinez, the defensive black hole who didn’t even hit any better than Fowler this past season?