The Cardinals announced Thursday that they’ve signed right-hander Casey Lawrence to a minor league contract. Lawrence, a client of the Big League Management Company, opted out of a minor league deal with the Blue Jays earlier this week. The Cards have assigned him to Triple-A Memphis for the time being.
The 35-year-old Lawrence has appeared in parts of three big league seasons, pitching 96 2/3 frames but struggling to a 6.80 ERA. He has a much better track record in Triple-A, where he’s logged a 3.80 ERA in parts of eight seasons (544 1/3 innings). He also spent the 2019 season pitching overseas in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, where he recorded a 4.51 ERA in 105 2/3 innings.
Lawrence has spent the season to date with the Jays’ Triple-A club, logging a 4.67 ERA with a 20.5% strikeout rate, 7.3% walk rate and 45% ground-ball rate in 90 2/3 innings.
The Cardinals have been stockpiling experienced pitching depth over the past week. In addition to Lawrence, they’ve also added reliever Jacob Barnes on a minor league pact and signed Ryan Tepera to a big league deal, designating southpaw Genesis Cabrera for assignment in order to clear a spot for the veteran righty.
Gearing up for a 20 game win streak off the back of decline mid 30 year old pitchers!
Where’s Mike Shildt when you need him? Oh yeah… getting fired cause a cuban translator was to much for Bill DeWitt…
50 million from Colorado for Arenado?
Is Johnny gonna save Disney? Call it curse of the BLACK pearl!!!
Get me Wade LeBlanc on the line
And TJ McFarland
Big League Management having one of their players signed to a minor league contract…
Yeah, I know most agents have at least one player signed to the minors, its just a funny thing for me to read this morning.
That’s cause you got Boras out there eating all the big fish
Gearing up with other team’s offcasts to fill in when Montgomery, Flaherty, Hicks, and Stratton are traded. It’s going to get really ugly when that happens. It will take at least 8 runs to win a game.
It takes nearly 8 runs to win a game now.
Way to go, Mo!
It’s for the tear down… even though there winning right now, there selling…
We are in too big of a hole. We could win the next 8 games in a row and be under .500 and still out of contention. Selling off free-agents-to-be for pitching for next year makes sense.
It’s not a tear down we aren’t rebuilding but Mo is going to cash in on the sellers market as we have some pitchers and young position players (Herrara, Carlson) to sell at peak value and help stock up young pitching.
Building nothing, trading nothing, it’s all smoke
Makes complete sense to have cheap veteran capacity in AAA to cover the remainder of 2023, and doesnt really matter if they miss the playoffs by 8 games or 18.
If they were burning money on better players to try to finish at .500 it would rightly be considered a dumb waste of money.
Entirely consistent with being about to trade expiring valuable contracts at the deadline and reloading for 2024. Nothing to see here.
I would rather have Amir Garrett. He at least he competes.
Amit Garrett has a million dollar arm, but only a ten-cent idea of where the strike zone is. That guy is worth a gamble of someone trying to fix that problem, because there is a great upside if someone finds the key to unlock that potential. A much better play than Jacob Barnes who likewise has potential but gets ruined by his lazy approach to his mechanics which results in badly located pitches turned into opponents’ timely big hits.
Mo doing his dumpster diving for pitching!
I guess someone has to fill out the pitching side after Montgomery, Flaherty, Hicks and Stratton are traded in the next week. I assume Hudson and Thompson and a called-up Liberatore will fill out the rotation behind Mikolas and Matz. That means there will be 3 holes in the bullpen to plug up.
Mo loves the high era pitchers