The Cardinals have claimed infielder Bryan Ramos off waivers from the Orioles, reports Francys Romero of BeisbolFR. There wasn’t any previous indication that Ramos had been designated for assignment but it seems the O’s tried to quietly sneak him through waivers. Their 40-man count will drop to 39. The Cards have had an open 40-man spot since trading Brendan Donovan to the Mariners earlier this week and don’t need to make a corresponding move.
Ramos had spent his entire professional career with the White Sox until getting designated for assignment last week. The Sox then flipped him to the Orioles for cash. It might seem odd that Baltimore sent out cash to get Ramos and then put him on waivers a few days later, but there’s logic at play.
Most teams currently have full 40-man rosters but the 60-day injured list opens up next week, which creates some extra flexibility for fringe roster moves. Getting a player through waivers is therefore easier now than it will be next week. Baltimore also bolstered their infield after getting Ramos by acquiring Blaze Alexander from the Diamondbacks yesterday.
Ramos is out of options is was going to have a tough time cracking Baltimore’s roster. He would have been a better fit as a non-roster guy, providing some minor league depth. The Cardinals have swooped in and prevented that from happening for the O’s.
For St. Louis, they had an open roster spot and also have a more open infield. They have traded away Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras and Donovan this winter. They currently project to have Masyn Winn at short and Alec Burleson at first, with guys like Nolan Gorman, JJ Wetherholt, Thomas Saggese, José Fermín and others in line for playing time at second and third base.
Ramos has only been a third baseman in his big league career, with some minor league time at first and second base. He was once a notable prospect but is coming off a few down years. He has hit .198/.244/.333 in 120 big league appearances and also has a .228/.314/.392 slash in the minors over the past two years.
As mentioned, Ramos is out of options. Even though St. Louis has some open playing time in their infield, they will probably try to get Ramos through waivers at some point. He has less than three years of service time and doesn’t have a previous career outright, so he wouldn’t have the right to elect free agency if he were to clear waivers.
Photo courtesy of Jesse Johnson, Imagn Images
Go Cardinals
Didn’t they already go to Arizona? 😉
Its frustrating the white sox let him go
I like it – right handed bat that can play 3rd or possibly some LF. He’s young/controllable and has been highly regarded as recently as last year.
With Miguel Andujar off the market, Ramos looks like a better hitter than most of the other right-handed hitting free agents.
Besides, they’re mainly looking for another bat to platoon against left-handers. A guy like Ramos would be happy with that job while someone like Tommy Pham probably wouldn’t.
It’s moves like this that show Chaim was the wrong choice and they should have never let Mozeliak step away.
Bring back Matheny!
The leader of men
lol I hope this is sarcasm
No, slider is the king of bad takes. His brain is addled from eating White Castle every day for years
Got a laugh out of this
Slider- Are you being sarcastic? Chaim is turning this team around, while Mo has not done much these past few years. Chaim is doing what Mo could not. Mozeliak was a great GM, but he fell apart at the end.
Lol. Of course I am.
Sounds good brother 👍
He is better than the other options at 3rd. He’s been hurt the last two years. When full healthy, there have been flashes of excitement. It’s a great landing spot for him. Open position availability, no pressure. He’s Not an all star, but he’ll get plenty of playing time to show he’s capable of bouncing around bench roles for a decade.
What’s the logic in burning the cash?
Cesar Prieto has some competition!