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Wade LeBlanc Announces Retirement

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Left-hander Wade LeBlanc has decided to retire, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reports (Twitter link).  The 37-year-old LeBlanc is hanging up his cleats after pitching in parts of 13 Major League seasons with nine different teams, as well as a stint in Japan with the Saitama Seibu Lions in 2015.

Originally a second-round pick for the Padres in the 2006 draft, LeBlanc has pitched in a number of different roles over his long career.  The southpaw has seen work as a full-time starter, full-time reliever, and most often a little bit of both, with teams usually eyeing LeBlanc in various types of swingman or long relief roles.  Interestingly, despite the “veteran lefty” mold, LeBlanc didn’t see much specialist work since left-handed batters actually did more damage (.843 OPS) against him than right-handed batters (.763 OPS).

Never a big strikeout pitcher or a high-velocity arm, LeBlanc relied more on off-speed pitches than his fastball, and got out by generating soft contact.  When LeBlanc was getting that weak contact and keeping the ball in the park, he was quite effective, though home runs became an increasing problem in recent years.

Of LeBlanc’s nine MLB teams, his longest stints came with the Mariners (333 1/3 IP), Padres (293 1/3 IP), and Marlins (117 1/3 IP).  He most recently saw action with the Cardinals, signing a contract in June when the Cards were besieged with pitching injuries.

LeBlanc helped stabilize things by posting a 3.61 ERA over his 42 1/3 innings in a St. Louis uniform, helping the team tread water until eventually going on a major hot streak down the stretch.  Unfortunately, LeBlanc wasn’t there to enjoy that success, as he was sidelined with an elbow injury and was reportedly set to undergo some type of medical procedure to address his elbow in September.

LeBlanc will retire with a 4.54 career ERA over 931 1/3 Major League innings.  We at MLBTR congratulate LeBlanc on an excellent career and we wish him the best in his post-playing endeavors.

Cardinals, Harrison Bader Avoid Arbitration With Two-Year Extension

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The Cardinals and outfielder Harrison Bader have agreed to a two-year, $10.4MM contract extension, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (all Twitter links).  The deal will cover Bader’s final two years of salary arbitration eligibility, and he’ll now receive a $1MM signing bonus up front, and $4.7MM salaries in both 2022 and 2023.  Up to $2.25MM in incentive clauses can also be earned for the 2023 season, based on plate appearances or games-played thresholds.  Bader is represented by Vayner Sports.

There was a sizable gap between Bader and the Cardinals when the two sides submitted their arbitration figures, as Bader was looking for $4.8MM and the team countered with a $3.8MM number.  (Both figures were higher than the $3.7MM that MLBTR’s Matt Swartz projected for Bader’s 2022 salary.)  The extension now means that a hearing is no longer necessary, and Bader’s arbitration process can be sidestepped entirely next winter.

It’s a nice payday for Bader, who has gone from being a backup outfielder to something of an under-the-radar five-tool talent.  There was never any question about Bader’s defense, and his excellent center field glovework was recognized with his first Gold Glove Award in 2021.  Bader is also a strong baserunner and could hit left-handed pitching, but questions persisted as to whether or not he could produce against right-handers.

Bader answered the critics last season, batting .273/.331/.458 with 12 homers over 326 PA against righties.  Oddly, this slash line actually topped his numbers against southpaws, yet the sum total was still a .267/.324/.460 slash and 16 homers over 401 plate appearances (110 wRC+, 116 OPS+).  Between this above-average offense and great defense, Bader was a 3.4 fWAR player in only 103 games, as he missed almost two full months of the season with forearm and rib injuries.

This isn’t to say that Bader is necessarily a finished product at the plate, as he had subpar hard-contact numbers and didn’t generate many walks last season.  His .331 wOBA was also far higher than his .295 xwOBA, so there was certainly some good fortune at play.  Still, even if Bader’s offense takes a step backwards, his defense is alone good enough to merit at least a part-time outfield role.

Between Bader in center, fellow Gold Glover Tyler O’Neill in left field, and star prospect-turned-breakout player Dylan Carlson in right field, St. Louis has one of baseball’s best young outfields, and this trio was a major reason why the Cardinals pulled off a late-season surge to make the playoffs.  The Cards augmented this group of right-handed hitters with lefty-swinging Corey Dickerson this winter, plus Lars Nootbaar and the versatile Tommy Edman will be getting some time on the grass.

The Bader extension takes care of one of the Cards’ two outstanding arb cases, as O’Neill has also yet to agree on his deal for the 2022 season.  However, MLB.com’s John Denton hears from a source that “progress is being made” toward an agreement with O’Neill.

Cardinals Release Ricardo Sanchez, Jesus Cruz

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The Cardinals have released left-hander Ricardo Sanchez and right-hander Jesus Cruz.  Neither hurler pitched in the majors in 2021, as Sanchez was recovering from Tommy John surgery and Cruz spent the season at the Cards’ alternate training camp in April and then with Triple-A Memphis.

Both pitchers made their MLB debuts in 2020, with Sanchez getting a slightly longer look in the Show.  Sanchez pitched 5 1/3 innings over three appearances with St. Louis, while Cruz was up in pure “cup of coffee” form with one inning of work in a single game.

Sanchez’s debut season was also set back by a positive COVID-19 diagnosis, as he was one of many Cardinals players caught up in an outbreak that ravaged the roster.  The southpaw was also sidelined by elbow problems in August that eventually resulted in the TJ procedure in October 2020.  Going by the normal 12-15 month Tommy John recovery timeline, Sanchez should be ready to pitch again, though it isn’t known if he experienced any setbacks in his rehab.

Sanchez is a veteran of seven pro seasons, mostly spent in the Braves’ farm system.  The left-hander has a 4.52 ERA over 517 1/3 career innings in the minors, though he had gradually improved the control issues that plagued him in his early days.

Cruz was an international signing for the Cardinals in the 2017-18 July 2 class, spending some time in the Mexican League before joining the Cards organization.  Cruz posted a 3.90 ERA over 210 minor league innings, amassing a strong 29.86% strikeout rate, but with a high 13.38% walk rate.  Troublingly, Cruz’s control issues have gotten worse as he has worked his way up the minor league ladder.

Cardinals Outright Johan Quezada

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MARCH 30: St. Louis announced that Quezada has cleared outright waivers and been assigned to Double-A Springfield (h/t to Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat). He doesn’t have the requisite service time to refuse an outright assignment, so he’ll remain in the organization.

MARCH 29: The Cardinals have designated right-hander Johan Quezada for assignment, tweets Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. His roster spot will go to Albert Pujols, whose one-year deal to return home to St. Louis is now official.

Originally an international signee with the Twins back in 2012, Quezada didn’t surface in the Majors until 2020, after he’d signed with the Marlins as a minor league free agent and found himself selected to the MLB roster that summer. He tallied just three innings of work and yielded three runs — all coming on one swing of the bat from Rafael Devers. He’s since bounced to the Phillies and the Cardinals via waivers.

Although it’s been nine years since the now 27-year-old Quezada signed his first professional contract with the Twins, he’s been limited to just 207 innings between the minors and the big leagues. That’s partly due to his work in short relief stints but also due to various injuries and the absence of a 2020 minor league season. Quezada averaged better than 97 mph on his heater in his brief Major League look with Miami, but command issues have plagued him throughout his minor league career, where he’s walked more than 16% of his opponents.

Last season, Quezada split his time between the Cardinals’ Triple-A, Double-A and Rookie-level affiliates while spending considerable time on the minor league 60-day IL. He logged 24 innings when healthy but posted just a 6.38 ERA in that time. That said, Quezada fanned a quarter of his opponents, walked a much-improved 8.0% of them and posted huge ground-ball rates that generally align with his career mark of 56.7%. The Cardinals will have a week to trade Quezada, place him on outright waivers, or release him.

Albert Pujols Planning To Retire After 2022 Season

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Albert Pujols is back with the Cardinals, and he’ll wrap up his career where it began. Speaking to reporters (including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch) at a press conference announcing his return to St. Louis, Pujols confirmed he’s planning to retire after the upcoming season. “This is it for me. This is my last run,” he told the group.

Pujols is headed into the 22nd season of a Hall of Fame career. He has spent a bit more than half that in Cardinal red, breaking into the big leagues with a Rookie of the Year-winning 2001 campaign. The slugging first baseman finished fourth in NL MVP voting his debut season, and he’d remain among the top five finishers in that balloting for all but one season in St. Louis ( a 2007 campaign in which he finished ninth).

During that run, Pujols claimed the MVP award on three separate occasions. He led MLB in OPS+ in four of the five seasons between 2006-10, claiming the Silver Slugger Award in each of the latter three years. Pujols went to the Midsummer Classic in nine of his first 11 seasons with the Cards and helped the club to a pair of World Series championships. Over his time in St. Louis, he posted an incredible .328/.420/.617 slash, averaging more than 40 home runs per season.

Of course, the second half of Pujols’ career wasn’t close to the otherworldly heights he reached during that time. Pujols posted above-average offensive numbers for each of his first five seasons in Orange County after signing a ten-year pact with the Angels during the 2011-12 offseason. He only put up excellent numbers during his first season with the Halos (.285/.343/.516 with 30 homers) as his batting average and on-base numbers sharply declined, although Pujols twice more eclipsed 30 longballs in Anaheim.

As his production continued to wane towards the end of that deal, the Angels released Pujols last May. He landed with the Dodgers and served as a righty platoon/bench bat before hitting the open market again this winter. In a full-circle moment, the 42-year-old agreed to head back to St. Louis for one final run last night.

Pujols has already racked up a laundry list of career accomplishments. His name dots the all-time leaderboards in most major categories. He’s 12th with 3,301 hits, and he’s just 18 knocks away from supplanting Paul Molitor in the top ten. Barring injury, he’s sure to get there this year. It’ll be harder — but not impossible — for Pujols to set another pair of achievements in the home run department. Already 5th all-time with 679 big flies, he needs 18 more to pass Alex Rodríguez for fourth-place and 21 homers to reach the 700-mark plateau. Pujols is 64 RBI from Babe Ruth for second-place in that category, and he has a chance to leapfrog both Willie Mays (38 away) and Stan Musial (92 away) on the total bases leaderboard.

Obviously, Pujols won’t shoulder the kind of workload he did early in his career. Paul Goldschmidt is the regular first baseman with the Cards, leaving the designated hitter role as the cleanest path to at-bats for Pujols. In recent seasons, he hasn’t hit well enough that a win-now St. Louis team will be committed to playing him everyday in that capacity, but he figures to pick up some pinch-hit work and starts against left-handed pitching. Cardinals fans will get an opportunity to watch Pujols chase those various milestones for a final six months, and he’ll go out alongside the two other players most synonymous with the past two decades of Cardinal baseball.

Yadier Molina has already announced plans to retire after this year himself. Adam Wainwright, who turns 41 in August, returned for a 17th season on a one-year deal over the offseason. There has been plenty of speculation over the past few seasons that Wainwright could soon step away himself, although he has yet to commit one way or the other. The three-time All-Star starter again demurred on his future this afternoon, telling reporters he’s “not crossing that bridge” at the moment (via John Denton of MLB.com).

To Wainwright’s credit, he has remained highly productive deep into his 30’s, showing even less of a drop-off in performance than either of his legendary teammates. All three players have been iconic members of the organization, and they’re now officially reunited for one last run. Whether Wainwright will join Molina and Pujols as outgoing stars remains to be seen, but the trio will be together this year in hopes of bringing a third World Series to St. Louis.

Cardinals Sign Albert Pujols

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Albert Pujols’ career has come full-circle, as the Cardinals announced Monday afternoon they’d agreed to a deal to bring him back to St. Louis. The MVP Sports Group client will reportedly be guaranteed $2.5MM. St. Louis will announce a corresponding 40-man roster move later this week.

Pujols, 42, spent the first 11 years of his career with the Cardinals, playing at an unfathomable level and enshrining himself as a future Hall of Famer. In that time, he hit 445 home runs and put up an incredible .328/.420/.617 for a wRC+ of 167. He was a key reason why the club was a continual competitor in that time, making the postseason in 7 of those 11 seasons and winning the World Series in 2006 and 2011.

Based on that otherworldly run of success, he was signed by the Angels to a ten-year, $254MM deal covering the 2012-2021 seasons. Pujols continued to hit at a level above the league average for the first five years of that deal, though a few notches below what he did as a Cardinal. From there, things only got worse, as he hit just .242/.291/.406 from 2017 to 2020, producing a wRC+ of just 84. After 24 games last year, with just a few months remaining on the contract, the Angels released him. Surprisingly, he was picked up by the Dodgers, who planned to limit the veteran slugger to a bench/platoon role, primarily facing lefties. The strategy worked out fine enough, as Pujols hit .254/.299/.460 as a Dodger, a wRC+ of 101.

The earlier report from Katie Woo of The Athletic indicated that the club was interested in bringing Pujols back for a reunion, but in a similar role to the one he had with the Dodgers last year. Now that the National League will have the designated hitter this year, it will be easier for the club to implement Pujols in this way, being used as a pinch hitter or in the DH slot, trying to limit his exposure to righties. Woo noted that that the club has traditionally shied away from platoon strategies in the past, but that new manager Oliver Marmol is planning on changing that. Paul Goldschmidt is firmly entrenched as the club’s regular first baseman, meaning Pujols will be in the mix for DH/pinch-hitting duties alongside Corey Dickerson, Lars Nootbaar and Juan Yepez.

For Yepez, he seemed poised to make the team after a tremendous year in the minors. Between Double-A and Triple-A last year, he hit .286/.383/.586, for a wRC+ of 154. Then there’s Nolan Gorman, who also spent last year between Double-A and Triple-A, hitting .279/.333/.481, wRC+ of 115. However, Woo reports that, given that Yepez is just 24 and Gorman doesn’t turn 22 until May, the club is considering a plan wherein they each spend a bit more time in the minors getting regular reps, waiting for an opportunity to open up as the season progresses.

While Yepez and Gorman will surely get their opportunities down the line, the narrative of the moment is that one of this generation’s greatest hitters is returning to where he started his career and flourished. He will also reunite with Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright, long-time Cardinals who were alongside Pujols for his greatest seasons, including those two World Series championships.

Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Pujols and the Cardinals were finalizing a one-year deal. Katie Woo of the Athletic had first reported there was “growing interest” in the organization in bringing him back. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported the sides were in agreement on a one-year, $2.5MM deal.

Braves Sign Seth Elledge To Minor League Deal

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The Cardinals announced this morning that right-hander Seth Elledge has been granted his unconditional release, and he’s quickly latched on with a new club. Elledge updated his social media profiles to reflect that he’s with the Braves organization (hat tip: Katie Woo of The Athletic), and MLBTR has confirmed that the righty indeed signed a minor league deal there.

Elledge, 25, was a fourth-round pick by the Mariners back in 2017 and found himself in the Cardinals organization by way of a 2019 trade that sent reliever Sam Tuivailala from St. Louis to Seattle. Elledge made his big league debut with the Cards in 2020 and wound up pitching exactly 11 2/3 innings for St. Louis with an identical 4.63 ERA in each of the past two seasons. He’s fanned 24% of the 52 big leaguers he’s faced and averaged 93.9 mph on his heater, but Elledge also walked seven hitters (14.4% walk rate) and hit another in his brief MLB looks. The Cardinals outrighted Elledge off the 40-man roster following the 2021 season.

Above-average strikeout rates and sub-par walk rates have been a hallmark of Elledge’s time both in the big leagues and in the minors. He carries a 3.93 ERA, 30.6% strikeout rate and 10.8% walk rate in parts of four pro seasons, but he’s had some particularly pronounced struggles in Triple-A (5.66 ERA, 13% walk rate in 70 frames). Command issues notwithstanding, Elledge regularly ranked in the middle tiers of the Cardinals’ prospects. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen listed him 17th among St. Louis farmhands heading into 2021, praising Elledge’s mid-90s sinker and plus slider while noting that he has a tendency to lose command of the latter.

Elledge isn’t on the 40-man roster with the Braves, but he has a pair of minor league options remaining, so if he’s selected to the big league club at some point, he’ll provide Atlanta with some bullpen flexibility over the remainder of the season. He also doesn’t have a full year of MLB service time under his belt yet, so he’s technically controllable through 2027 — though a lot needs to go right before that’s even a factor to consider.

Cardinals Have Growing Interest In Albert Pujols

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The Cardinals “have had increased conversations” with Albert Pujols, reports Katie Woo of The Athletic, who also says that “interest is growing in bringing back the former Cardinal for the 2022 season.”

Just two weeks ago, it was reported that the Cardinals were considering such a move. But club chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. seemed to throw some cold water on that idea, saying “we’ve got most of our club pretty well set.” However, it seems the club may have warmed to the idea of bringing Pujols back to where he started his career and had his best seasons.

Pujols was drafted by the Cardinals in 1999 and made his MLB debut with the club in 2001. Over 11 seasons from 2001 through 2011, he hit 445 home runs and put up an incredible .328/.420/.617 for a wRC+ of 167. He was a key reason why the club was a continual competitor in that time, making the postseason in 7 of those 11 seasons and winning the World Series in 2006 and 2011. Based on that otherworldly run of success, he was signed by the Angels to a ten-year, $254MM deal covering the 2012-2021 seasons. Pujols continued to hit at a level above the league average for the first five years of that deal, though a few notches below what he did as a Cardinal. From there, things only got worse, as he hit just .242/.291/.406 from 2017 to 2020, producing a wRC+ of just 84. After 24 games last year, with just a few months remaining on the contract, the Angels released him. Surprisingly, he was picked up by the Dodgers, who planned to limit the veteran slugger to a bench/platoon role, primarily facing lefties. The strategy worked out fine enough, as Pujols hit .254/.299/.460 as a Dodger, a wRC+ of 101.

As per Woo’s report, the Cardinals would be considering a reunion with Pujols to implement his skills in a similar manner to how the Dodgers did last year. She notes that the club has traditionally shied away from platoon strategies in the past, but new manager Oliver Marmol is planning on changing that. Paul Goldschmidt is firmly entrenched as the club’s regular first baseman, meaning Pujols would be in the mix for DH/pinch-hitting duties, alongside Corey Dickerson, Lars Nootbaar and Juan Yepez. For Yepez, he seemed poised to make the team after a tremendous year in the minors. Between Double-A and Triple-A last year, he hit .286/.383/.586, for a wRC+ of 154. Then there’s Nolan Gorman, who also spent last year between Double-A and Triple-A, hitting .279/.333/.481, wRC+ of 115. However, Woo reports that, given that Yepez is just 24 and Gorman doesn’t turn 22 until May, the club is considering a plan wherein they each spend a bit more time in the minors getting regular reps, waiting for an opportunity to open up as the season progresses.

Regardless of how the roster machinations play out, the move would surely have its biggest reverberations in the public relations department. It was in St. Louis that Pujols established himself as one of the greatest hitters of his generation and more or less guaranteed himself a future plaque in the Hall of Fame. A return to where it all started for the 42-year-old would surely be a tremendously popular storyline with Cardinals fans and baseball fans in general.

Cardinals Sign Blake Parker To Minor League Deal

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The Cardinals announced that right-hander Blake Parker has been signed to a minor league contract.  Parker will receive an invitation to the Cards’ Major League spring camp.

This will mark the third straight winter with a minor league deal for Parker, though he has produced good bottom-line results in each of the last two seasons.  With the Phillies in 2020, Parker had a 2.81 ERA in 16 innings during the abbreviated season, posting a 36.2% strikeout rate but also an unwieldy 13% walk rate.  Both of those latter numbers dropped with Cleveland last year, as while Parker’s control improved with a 7.6% walk rate, he only managed a 20% strikeout rate.  Still, Parker did have a 3.09 ERA over 43 2/3 frames out of the Indians’ bullpen.

With a 3.47 ERA over 345 1/3 career innings in the majors, Parker has been a solid relief option for the majority of his nine big league seasons.  He struggled through a rough year in 2019, however, as a lack of control and an inability to keep the ball in the park led to some poor results with the Twins (after beginning the season as Minnesota’s closer) and Phillies.

The 36-year-old Parker will now look to again win himself another trip to the majors via the St. Louis bullpen.  Zach McAllister and Kyle Ryan are two of the other experienced non-roster candidates vying for jobs, and the Cardinals also brought the likes of Drew VerHagen and Nick Wittgren into the fold on MLB contracts.  Aaron Brooks was another minor league signing, but the Cards have already locked him into a guaranteed by adding him to their 40-man roster.

All in all, there are plenty of arms competing for jobs on a staff that is still adjusting to the news that Jack Flaherty and Alex Reyes will begin the season on the injured list.  Reyes is out until at least late May and Flaherty’s timetable is less certain, thus creating ripple effects in both the rotation and the bullpen.

Cardinals Select Aaron Brooks, Place Alex Reyes On 60-Day Injured List

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The Cardinals have selected right-hander Aaron Brooks to the 40-man roster, the team informed reporters (including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). He’ll break camp with the club. To clear roster space, righty Alex Reyes has been placed on the 60-day injured list.

St. Louis signed Brooks to a minor league deal in late January. The 31-year-old had spent the prior two seasons in the Korea Baseball Organization, working out of the Kia Tigers’ rotation. He pitched to a 2.50 ERA in 151 1/3 innings his first year, leading the Tigers to bring him back for another season. Brooks only made 13 starts and tallied 78 frames last season, but he posted a solid 3.35 ERA in that time.

Brooks only struck 20.1% of opposing hitters over that two-year stretch. Yet he virtually never handed out free passes, walking just 4.4% of batters faced. Of most interest to the Cardinals, he induced grounders on more than three quarters of the balls put in play against him in both his KBO seasons. St. Louis has perhaps the game’s top collection of infield defenders (Paul Goldschmidt, Tommy Edman, Paul DeJong and Nolan Arenado), and they’d set out this offseason to target pitchers capable of playing to that strength.

They identified Brooks, despite his 6.49 ERA in 170 2/3 career big league innings. The former ninth-round pick suited up with each of the Royals, A’s and Orioles before heading to South Korea but never found much success. The Cards clearly believe he’s capable of performing better with a strong defense behind him, and he can factor into either the rotation or the bullpen for first-year skipper Oli Marmol. St. Louis will be without Jack Flaherty to open the year, giving Brooks a shot to compete for the final rotation spot behind Adam Wainwright, Steven Matz, Dakota Hudson and Miles Mikolas.

It was also already known they’d be without Reyes in the early going, and he’s now officially going to miss at least the first two months of the season. The hard-throwing reliever received a stem cell injection in his shoulder last week and wasn’t expected to be available until late May or early June. Today’s IL placement rules him out until at least the second week of June.

In addition to the Brooks/Reyes news, St. Louis announced they’ve signed utilityman Cory Spangenberg to a minor league deal. The 31-year-old appeared in every big league season between 2014-19, spending the bulk of that time with the Padres. Like Brooks, he’s coming back to the U.S. after a two-year stint in an Asian league — in his case, Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.

Spangenberg, a left-handed hitter, has a fair bit of experience at each of second base, third base and left field. He owns a .256/.315/.389 line in just under 1400 MLB plate appearances. He combined for a .257/.330/.463 mark in two seasons with the Seibu Lions and will add some versatile depth to the high minors of the St. Louis system.

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