Selling Anthony Reyes for $50K

The Cardinals were relatively quiet in Thursday’s Rule 5 Draft, picking up one reliever yet to pitch in Double-A, Russ Haltiwanger, but they lost two players, reliever Luis Perdomo and outfielder Cody Haerther.

The loss of Haerther, squeezed out by his uneven play, injuries and tougher competition, was all but assured when the Cardinals did not even protect him at the Triple-A level. He was taken by Toronto, also the “other” when they claimed Haerther off waivers one year ago, only to try to remove him from their roster a few days later – just before the 2007 Rule 5 Draft. Of course, as most know, the Cardinals took him back.

Cody is a class guy and as such, will be missed by The Cardinal Nation.

Perdomo’s loss was unnecessary, what with the Cardinals having enough roster space to keep him. As the draft demonstrated, he had value in the market, so why give it away? Taken by the San Francisco Giants, the reliever has to remain in the majors for the entire 2009 season, or be passed through waivers and potentially returned to the Cardinals.

Perhaps it is for the better, as any mention of Perdomo reminds me of the decline and eventual give-away of another ex-Cardinal, Anthony Reyes, as the two were swapped for one another in the days approaching the 2008 trade deadline.

Perdomo just reached Double-A this season, too, but his over-90 mph sinking fastball is why he didn’t last beyond the sixth pick in this Rule 5 Draft. The Cardinals now have just $50,000 to show for Perdomo, and therefore, for Reyes.

To put that into perspective, Albert Pujols makes roughly $30,000 per at-bat over the course of the season!

I am not going to raise my blood pressure rehashing the details of Reyes’ years with the Cardinals other than to again shake my head over what might have been. I can’t properly dish out blame in the proper proportion among player, coaches and front office, but I do firmly believe that somewhere, somehow, someone should have done more.

Best wishes to Perdomo and Haerther with their new organizations and same to Reyes with the Indians, for that matter.

To read more about the newest Cardinal, Haltiwanger, check out my free article on Scout.com.