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Cardinals Sign Jerome Williams

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The Cardinals have added veteran righty Jerome Williams on a minor league deal, GM John Mozeliak tells Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispact (via Twitter). He can earn at a $2MM rate if and when he reaches the majors, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter).

Williams seemingly waited to sign after undergoing a procedure on his Achilles tendon. He’ll now begin working towards making the Cardinals the eighth team with which he’s seen major league action. Williams will start out with the club’s top affiliate.

For St. Louis, Williams represents a swingman option. He has exceeded 100 innings in each of the last three seasons, and may be the type of steady piece needed for a staff has shown some cracks. Williams scuffled to a 5.24 ERA last year with the Phillies, but had carried a 4.54 earned run mark (with 6.1 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9) in the 466 innings he threw over the prior four seasons.

Cardinals Planning Around Aledmys Diaz

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  • The breakout performance of Aledmys Diaz has the Cardinals looking for ways to adapt the rest of the roster to a new full-time shortstop, as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. St. Louis has had discussions with both Jhonny Peralta and Matt Carpenter about occupying more versatile roles — something in the mold of, but less dramatic than, Ben Zobrist’s old position-less situation with the Rays. Both Peralta and Carpenter have played multiple positions in the majors already, but it seems that the variety and day-to-day volatility may increase somewhat. Meanwhile, GM John Mozeliak said that he has high expectations for Diaz. “[G]iven what you’re seeing out of Diaz at his age [25], you really need to see him develop at shortstop,” said the veteran executive. “When you look at what he’s been able to do, seeing him hold that spot for the next five or six years is reasonable to think.”

Cardinals “Unlikely” To Receive Hacking Punishment Before June Draft

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Major League Baseball is “unlikely” to issue any penalty to the Cardinals for the organization’s role in the Astros computer breach controversy prior to the upcoming amateur draft on June 9, Derrick Gould of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch hears from sources familiar with Commissioner Rob Manfred’s thoughts on the matter.

Manfred “has wide latitude” in issuing a punishment of some type to the Cards, and it has been heavily speculated that the penalty could include limitations on the team’s draft pool or perhaps simply taking away some picks altogether.  The league has been unable to complete its investigation into the matter, however, since the sentencing hearing for former St. Louis scouting director Chris Correa has been postponed multiple times.  The hearing for Correa (who pleaded guilty to charges) is currently scheduled to take place on July 5.

As Goold notes, the coming draft projects as a bountiful one for the Cardinals given the number of extra picks and spending at their disposal.  St. Louis owns four of the first 70 picks and has a draft pool of just under $9.1MM, totals boosted by the compensation picks the club received when Jason Heyward and John Lackey left in free agency after rejecting qualifying offers.  If a punishment isn’t issued in time for this draft, the Cards will have a chance to stock up on young talent now before possibly facing the loss of picks in the 2017 draft.

Cardinals Could Move Peralta, Carpenter Around Infield

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The Cardinals’ Jhonny Peralta is nearing a return from thumb surgery, but he might not be their everyday shortstop when he comes back, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Redbirds want to continue playing standout rookie shortstop Aledmys Diaz, possibly their long-term solution at the position, and have had conversations with both Peralta and third baseman Matt Carpenter about lining up at multiple spots. Peralta has been playing third (he has previous major league experience there) and short during his rehab assignment, while Carpenter could move back to his former position – second base – or first base, where he started Saturday. “I feel like it’s going to create a fresh opportunity for us, but I also feel like given what you’re seeing out of Diaz at his age (25) you really need to see him develop at shortstop,” said general manager John Mozeliak. “We want to keep him developing and also figure out the right combination to win games. We need to have at least one player moving around. We need one of the veterans to say, ‘Hey, I’m willing.’”

Matt Adams, Randal Grichuk Coming Up Big In May

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  • Cardinals hitters Matt Adams and Randal Grichuk got off to slow starts this season but have come up huge lately, ESPN’s Mark Saxon writes. Adams is batting .382/.433/.673 in May, while Grichuk is hitting .273/.333/.481 this month after batting just .182 in April. Adams’ resurgence is perhaps the more notable of the two, given the big lefty’s disappointing .240/.280/.377 showing last year. “This is the kind of player we saw coming up through the system,” says manager Mike Matheny of Adams. “We were just kind of waiting for it to happen at this level and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be happening now.”

Cardinals Designate Ruben Tejada For Assignment

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The Cardinals have announced that they’ve designated infielder Ruben Tejada for assignment. Mark Saxon of ESPN.com was first to report on Twitter that the DFA was likely. Tejada’s roster spot will be taken by Matt Carpenter, who’s returning from the paternity list.

St. Louis faced a choice between cutting Tejada loose and optioning Greg Garcia. The latter may have made the decision for the team with a highly productive game tonight. He’s now blasted two home runs (among eight total hits) and drawn seven walks in just twenty-one plate appearances.

Garcia, of course, has never hit at anything close to that rate in the minors. But the 26-year-old is clamoring for a larger opportunity, and Tejada no longer really is needed for the reason he was acquired.

St. Louis inked Tejada to a $1.5MM deal after he was cut loose by the Mets, with the Cards still trying to figure out what to do with Jhonny Peralta on the DL. In the interim, Aledmys Diaz has taken over at short and Peralta is now nearing a return, reducing the need for middle infield help with Garcia, Jedd Gyorko, and Kolten Wong also all on hand.

The 26-year-old Tejada has certainly not helped his cause. In 40 plate appearances, he owns a .176/.225/.235 slash. That doesn’t inspire much confidence given that Tejada has hit at about 15% below the league average rate over his career. Plus, he’s known more as a competent than a high-quality gloveman. All that being said, capable middle infielders who are competent offensively aren’t easy to find, so it seems reasonable to expect plenty of interest from teams looking for depth up the middle.

Cardinals To Sign Michael McKenry

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  • Backstop Michael McKenry has signed on with the Cardinals on a minor league pact, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). The 31-year-old had put up a .220/.389/.341 slash at the Triple-A level with the Rangers thus far on the year. He’s seen six seasons of action in the majors previously, with just-below-average offensive results but a reputation for less-than-stellar defensive work behind the plate.

Cardinals Acquire Jose Martinez

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The Cardinals have acquired outfielder Jose Martinez from the Royals, per an announcement from the St. Louis club. Cash considerations will go back to Kansas City in the deal.

Martinez, 27, was designated recently. He’s a ten-year minor-league veteran who has yet to crack the majors. In parts of two seasons at Triple-A, Martinez owns a productive .359/.431/.525 batting line over 556 plate appearances. He hasn’t quite maintained the pace he set last year at Omaha, but will nevertheless provide the Cards some outfield depth in the upper levels of their system.

Details On Carlos Beltran’s No-Trade Clause

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Yankees outfielder Carlos Beltran can block trades to 15 clubs under the terms of his limited no-trade clause, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney, who explores the possibility of a deal involving the veteran. Among the teams to which Beltran could be dealt without consent are the Indians, Nationals, Royals, Cardinals, Rays, Tigers, and Dodgers, per the report.

Of course, it’s far from clear whether New York will end up entertaining such a move. The club has moved back to within striking distance in the AL East already, and there’s plenty of time left before the deadline.

Parting with Beltran wouldn’t necessarily mean abandoning hope for the present season, Olney suggests. Shipping him out would free up opportunities for highly-regarded young players such as Aaron Hicks and Aaron Judge. They could be expected to provide value now while helping prepare for bigger roles in 2017 and beyond.

It’s fair to wonder just how much trade value Beltran would carry. On the one hand, he recently turned 39 and is a subpar outfielder (especially if one credits Defensive Runs Saved). On the other, he’s a highly respected veteran who is currently running out a productive .274/.299/.522 batting line, largely matching his overall production levels from last season (about 20% above league average).

Salary will certainly play a role, too, as Beltran is owed a healthy $15MM this season before reaching free agency at year’s end. Whether or not the market is receptive to that overall package remains to be seen, but presumably the Yankees won’t make a move unless they receive some kind of interesting return (barring a full-blown collapse in the next two months). That’s especially true given the uncertainty of Hicks and Judge as well as the fact that aging sluggers Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez come with their own blend of health, age, and performance questions.

Alex Reyes Returns From 50-Game Suspension

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  • Cardinals pitching prospect Alex Reyes threw four scoreless innings in a Triple-A start today, his first action since returning from a 50-game suspension for marijuana use.  Suspension notwithstanding, Reyes could very possibly still reach the majors this season given his status as one of the game’s best prospects; the righty was rated very highly by Baseball America (7th), ESPN’s Keith Law (8th), Baseball Prospectus (10th) and MLB.com (11th) in preseason top-100 lists.  In an interview with MLB.com’s Nick Krueger, Reyes discusses his outing and how he hopes he can regain the trust of both the organization and the fans.
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