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Kodi Whitley

Rays Sign Kodi Whitley To Minor League Deal

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The Rays have signed right-hander Kodi Whitley to a minor league deal, as noted in the transactions tracker on Whitley’s MLB.com profile page.

Whitley, who celebrated his 30th birthday on Friday, was a 27th-round pick by the Cardinals back in 2017 who made his MLB debut in St. Louis during the shortened 2020 season. His first two seasons in the majors went quite well despite limited playing time at the big league level, as he pitched to a 2.40 ERA in 30 innings of work. He struck out 27.1% of opponents while walking 11%, resulting in a 3.21 FIP, though more advanced metrics such as xFIP (4.13) and SIERA (3.88) painted him as more of a league average arm.

Unfortunately for Whitley, things came off the rails a bit for him during the 2022 campaign. He logged just 12 2/3 innings of work at the big league level for St. Louis that year, and the results left much to be desired. Whitley surrendered a 5.68 ERA as his strikeout rate dipped to just 20.3%. Even more concerning was his walk rate, which was already somewhat elevated even when the right-hander was successful but in 2022 ballooned to an untenable 15.3% rate. While Whitley posted a decent 3.86 ERA with Triple-A Memphis that year, his 21.8% strikeout rate and 10.9% walk rate still left something to be desired relatively to his past performance in the majors.

Given Whitley’s struggles, it was hardly a shock when the club outrighted him off their 40-man roster following the 2022 season. He stuck with the Cardinals at Triple-A to open the 2023 campaign but put up lackluster results even in the minor leagues with a 5.19 ERA in 32 appearances. That led St. Louis to release Whitley midway through the season, and though he was picked up in July by the Braves things got even worse for him at Atlanta’s Triple-A affiliate in Gwinnett as he surrendered a 6.43 ERA in 14 frames with the club.

That difficult stint with the Braves stands as Whitley’s most recent pro experience. He stuck with the Braves throughout the 2023-24 offseason but was released last March and did not sign with an organization afterwards. That’s now changed, however, and he’ll look to get his career back on track with one of the top pitching development organizations in baseball this year. The Rays are known for churning through bullpen arms nearly constantly, so if Whitley manages to recapture the success he had earlier in his career there’s little doubt that Tampa would find a spot for him in their big league bullpen at some point this year. That could take time, however, given Whitley’s apparent yearlong layoff from game action.

Braves Agree To Minor League Deals With Mike Morin, Kodi Whitley

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The Braves recently added a couple relievers to the upper minors. Righty Mike Morin signed a minor league deal last week and has made a pair of appearances for Triple-A Gwinnett. Kodi Whitley is joining him after signing a non-roster pact on Monday, per the MLB.com transaction log.

Morin, 32, pitched in the majors every season from 2014-20. He posted a 2.90 ERA over 54 outings as a rookie for the Angels before struggling to a 6.37 ERA the next year. Morin would log parts of four seasons with the Halos before bouncing around the league. He suited up with the Twins, Mariners, Royals and Phillies before tossing four scoreless frames for the 2020 Marlins — his last MLB experience to date.

The North Carolina product had been pitching in the Mexican League early this year. A 2.89 ERA and excellent 26:5 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 18 2/3 innings earned him another affiliated opportunity.

Whitley, 28, logged parts of three seasons with the Cardinals. He tossed 42 2/3 innings combined from 2020-22, pitching to a 3.38 ERA despite a lofty 12.4% walk rate. Outrighted off St. Louis’ 40-man roster at the start of the offseason, he’d spent the year with their top affiliate in Memphis. The 6’3″ hurler posted a 5.19 ERA in 43 1/3 Triple-A frames and was released last week. He’ll look to pitch his way back to the big leagues with the second organization of his career.

Cardinals Outright Kramer Robertson, Kodi Whitley

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The Cardinals have outrighted infielder Kramer Robertson and right-hander Kodi Whitley, according to the transactions tracker at MLB.com.

Robertson, 28, began 2022 as a Cardinal but ended up bouncing around a bit. He went to Atlanta and then to the Mets before returning to the Cards on a series of waiver claims. It seems that he passed through waivers unclaimed this time around and will stick around the organization as depth.

Despite all that bouncing around, he only got into two major league games this year, spending most of the year on various minor league clubs. In 116 Triple-A games this year, he hit .239/.393/.363 for a wRC+ of 114. That high on-base rate and limited power have been a part of this repertoire for a while now, though he also brings defensive versatility to the table. He spent time at second base, third base and shortstop this season.

As for Whitley, 27, he was added to the club’s 40-man roster in July of 2020 and has been an up-and-down arm for the club since then. He’s thrown 42 2/3 innings at the big league level over the past three seasons, registering a combined 3.38 ERA with a strong 24.9% strikeout rate but a high 12.4% walk rate. The needles moved in the wrong direction in 2022, as his ERA was up at 5.68, his punchouts down to 20.3% and his walks were up at 15.3%. Like Robertson, he will stick with the organization as depth but without taking up a spot on the 40-man.

Many teams face roster crunches at this time of year, given that there’s no injured list between the World Series and Spring Training, meaning guys on the 60-day IL will need spots again. Also, the deadline for adding players to protect them for the Rule 5 draft is coming up in mid-November. With those pressures, it seems that Robertson and Whitley were squeezed out and the Cards were willing to risk losing them on waivers.

Cardinals Promote Zack Thompson, Designate Kramer Robertson

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The Cardinals announced a series of roster moves Friday, most notably selecting the contract of 2019 first-rounder Zack Thompson, who’ll join the pitching staff with the Cards slated to play four games in the next three days. Infielder Kramer Robertson was designated for assignment in a corresponding 40-man roster move. The Cards also optioned lefty Matthew Liberatore and right-hander Kodi Whitley to Triple-A Memphis and recalled righty Johan Oviedo from Memphis. Furthermore, the Cardinals announced that outfielders Tyler O’Neill and Dylan Carlson will begin minor league rehab assignments — O’Neill in Triple-A and Carlson in Double-A.

Thompson, 24, was the 19th overall pick in 2019 and has ranked among the Cardinals’ best pitching prospects since being selected that day. He’s not as highly touted as Liberatore, who was just optioned out, but ranks 15th in their system at Baseball America and ninth at MLB.com. The lefty saw his stock drop in 2021, when he posted an ERA just north of 7.00 and walked 12.8% of his opponents in Triple-A. However, that came after an aggressive jump from Class-A Advanced, where he’d thrown just 13 1/3 innings, and on the heels of a year-long layoff from pitching in a game setting due to the canceled 2020 minor league season.

Thompson has gotten out to a much better start in 2022. He’s still far from dominant in Triple-A but has worked to a 4.67 ERA in a hitter-friendly setting while sporting dramatically improved K-BB numbers. His strikeout rate is up from 18.5% in 2021 to 30.1% in 2022, while that 12.8% walk rate has been curbed to a very solid 8.1%. He’s induced grounders at a 44% clip — very slightly above the MLB 43.1% average — which should pair nicely with the Cardinals’ elite infield defense.

Scouting reports on Thompson note that his velocity took a step back in early 2021, though BA notes that it improved over the season. At his best, Thompson sits in the low 90s but can reach back to dial it up as high as 97 mph on the radar gun, and both BA and MLB.com tout his plus curveball and its elite spin rate. If he’s back on track in terms of velocity, there’s a chance for Thompson to eventually settle in as a mid-rotation starter in St. Louis, where the team’s overall defensive mastery can help to boost any pitcher’s raw run-prevention numbers.

Injuries to Jack Flaherty and Steven Matz have thinned out the St. Louis rotation at the moment, so Thompson could parlay this first big league look into a more prominent opportunity if he impresses early on. Looking forward, Adam Wainwright is only on a one-year deal, and it’s not clear what the future holds for him. Thompson and Liberatore could be vying for permanent rotation spots alongside Flaherty, Matz, Dakota Hudson and Miles Mikolas before long, now that both have reached the Majors for the first time.

From a service time vantage point, Thompson’s promotion comes far too late in the season for him to accumulate the service time needed to reach a full year in 2022. As such, the earliest he could potentially reach free agency would be after the 2028 season. If he sticks in the big leagues from here onward, he’d likely reach Super Two status and be arbitration-eligible four times rather than three, but one look at the manner in which Liberatore has already been shuttled back and forth a few times suggests that Thompson could be handled similarly.

As for the 27-year-old Robertson, he was selected to the 40-man roster back in early May but appeared in just two games before being optioned back to Memphis. Robertson went hitless in his lone plate appearance, though he did pick up an RBI. The 2017 fourth-rounder is a career .242/.367/.396 hitter in 222 Triple-A games and has routinely turned in elite walk rates throughout his minor league tenure. He’s never hit for a high average or displayed much power, however, and he’s been primarily a second baseman and third baseman rather than a shortstop, which curbs his appeal as a utility option. Robertson does have all three minor league option years remaining, so it’s possible another club will look at that and his gaudy OBP marks and see some optionable infield depth.

The Cards will have a week to trade Robertson or attempt to pass him through outright waivers, at which point all 29 other clubs would be able to place a claim.

Cardinals Place Jordan Hicks On IL With Forearm Strain

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Cardinals righty Jordan Hicks tells reporters, including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, that he is going on the injured list with a forearm strain. Shortly after Hicks made that reveal, the club announced a batch of roster moves, with catcher Yadier Molina being activated from the bereavement list. Righties Kodi Whitley and Jake Woodford were recalled. To make room for those three on the active roster, Hicks was placed on the IL, while righty Junior Fernandez and catcher Ivan Herrera were optioned to Triple-A.

Any injury to a pitcher’s throwing arm can be a cause for concern, with the terminology of “forearm strain” often being particularly frightening as it can be a precursor to Tommy John surgery. However, the details coming from the club suggest that they aren’t pressing any alarm buttons just yet. Hicks tells reporters, including Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat, that it feels minor compared to his previous injuries, categorizing it as normal soreness that occurs for starting pitchers between outings. (Hicks underwent Tommy John in 2019.) He doesn’t seem to be anticipating a lengthy absence, as he tells Jones that he expects to be back this season, either as a starter or a reliever, depending on the team’s situation in the long run.

Due to injuries to Jack Flaherty and Alex Reyes, the Cardinals had a rotation need to begin the year and decided to transition Hicks from reliever to starter, stretching him out as the season went along. The results haven’t been eye-popping so far, with the fireballer currently sporting a 5.02 ERA over 28 2/3 innings, along with a 23% strikeout rate, 15.9% walk rate and 55.6% grounder rate.

Flaherty and Reyes are both still on the IL and were recently joined by Steven Matz. Prospect Matthew Liberatore has been called up and seems to have taken over a spot in the rotation for now, alongside Adam Wainwright, Dakota Hudson and Miles Mikolas. That still leaves them shorthanded, and the Cards are playing 12 games in the next 11 days thanks to a June 4 doubleheader. Packy Naughton has already been with the big league club this year and could be recalled to help out. Angel Rondon had a good outing for the club earlier this week but was optioned the next day, May 23. Pitchers must stay in the minors for 15 days after being optioned, unless replacing a player going on the IL or if they are acting as the 27th man for a doubleheader. Woodford, recalled today, has made two Triple-A starts this year, though logging only three innings in each of them.

Cardinals Place Andrew Miller On 10-Day Injured List

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The Cardinals have placed Andrew Miller on the 10-day injured list because of a left foot blister, per the team. This will be the second time Miller misses time because of a blister on his foot. He missed the entire month of May because of a similar injury. When healthy, he has a 4.94 ERA/4.54 FIP over 31 innings.

Kodi Whitley has been recalled from Triple-A to take Miller’s roster spot. Whitley has made 12 appearances with the big league club this year, giving up seven earned runs on seven hits and seven walks while striking out eight over 10 1/3 innings.

Additionally, Dakota Hudson will head to Palm Beach for a rehab assignment in Single-A, and Mark Saxon suggests Hudson could pitch out of the Cardinals bullpen soon. Hudson has been out for the entire season recovering from Tommy John surgery. The Cardinals would love to have a healthy Hudson in their rotation next season, but this year they will focus on working his arm back into game shape. Hudson’s one full season resulted in 174 2/3 innings of 3.35 ERA baseball back in 2019.

Cardinals Finalize Opening Day Roster

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The St. Louis Cardinals have set their roster for opening day, per MLB.com’s Jeff Jones, Derrick S. Goold of the St.Louis Post-Dispatch and others (Twitter links). John Nogowski, Austin Dean, Edmundo Sosa, and Jake Woodford will be on the roster, while Lane Thomas and Kodi Whitley become two of the final cuts. Goold lists the final opening day roster here.

Nogowski required a strong spring to make the roster, as the 28-year-old first baseman doesn’t bring a lot of utility to the roster. He did exactly that, however, slashing .379/.526/.586 in spring action. He’ll be the first right-handed bat off the bench. With Matt Carpenter on hand to serve as Paul Goldschmidt’s primary backup, it’s hard to imagine Nogowski seeing much action in the field.

The Thomas demotion might have the most impact, as without him, the Cardinals don’t have a true centerfielder on the roster. The Cards are all-in on rookie Dylan Carlson as their man in the middle until Harrison Bader returns from injury. Justin Williams and Austin Dean will be among the players replacing Carlson in right. Tommy Edman, who won the starting second base job, could also see time in right while Carpenter or Edmundo Sosa step in at the keystone. Starting left fielder Tyler O’Neill, meanwhile, is most likely to backup Carlson in center.

Woodford, 24, wins a spot in the bullpen on the strength of a 1.04 ERA this spring. Whitley, 26, heads to the minors to begin the season. Woodford can serve as a long man out of the pen, which may be important given the uncertainty in the back end of the rotation where Carlos Martinez, John Gant, and Daniel Ponce de Leon will take their turns until Miles Mikolas and/or Kwang Hyun Kim return. From the left side, Tyler Webb and Genesis Cabrera join Andrew Miller in the bullpen.

Cardinals Place Dakota Hudson On 45-Day IL

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The Cardinals have placed right-hander Dakota Hudson on the 45-day injured list, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets. They activated righty Kodi Whitley from the IL to take Hudson’s place on their roster.

This will end Hudson’s season, though it’s not a surprising outcome for someone who suffered a right flexor tendon injury last week. The hope is that Hudson will return to health once next season rolls around, especially considering he has been an important member of the Cardinals’ rotation since his first full campaign in 2019.

While fielding-independent metrics such as FIP (4.73) and xFIP (4.55) haven’t been enamored of Hudson’s work, the bottom-line results have been highly encouraging for the 26-year-old throughout his career. So far, thanks in part to a sterling 57.3 percent groundball rate, Hudson has managed a 3.17 ERA across 241 innings and overcome weak strikeout/walk numbers (6.95 K/9, 4.44 BB/9). Hudson’s ability to induce grounders at a high clip helped him to a 2.77 ERA in 39 frames this year.

Paul DeJong, Yadier Molina Cleared To Return From COVID-19 IL

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The Cardinals finally returned to action Aug. 15 after a long, coronavirus-caused layoff, but they still haven’t been at full strength. Shortstop Paul DeJong, catcher Yadier Molina, reliever Kodi Whitley and infielder Rangel Ravelo were absent from the Cardinals’ five games since last weekend, but they may not be unavailable for much longer. Manager Mike Shildt announced Tuesday that all of those players have been cleared to come off the COVID-19 injured list, Anne Rogers of MLB.com tweets and as Jeff Jones of the Belleville News first reported. 

DeJong, Molina, Whitley and Ravelo were among the many Cardinals who tested positive, leading to the team’s protracted shutdown that began July 29. DeJong has been one of the most valuable shortstops in the game since he debuted in 2017, so he’ll be an especially welcome addition when he’s good to take the field again. The Cardinals will also be happy to have Molina back, as even though his offensive production has waned, he’s a heart-and-soul player for the franchise.

Since coming back, the shorthanded Cardinals have gone with Tommy Edman at short and a combination of Andrew Knizner and Matt Wieters behind the plate. All three have gotten off to poor starts this season.

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