photo: Jimmy Crooks (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
St. Louis Cardinals release
The St. Louis Cardinals announced today (Saturday, March 4) that the team has reduced its Spring Training roster to 58 players, with seven players optioned or assigned to minor league camp.
The team optioned pitchers Freddy Pacheco and Guillermo Zuniga to the Memphis (AAA) roster and re-assigned non-roster pitchers James Naile, Tommy Parsons and Kodi Whitley to minor league camp along with non-roster catchers Aaron Antonini and Jimmy Crooks.
Brian Walton’s take
No surprises here in the first round of cuts.
Neither of the 40-man roster pitchers, Pacheco nor Zuniga, made it into game action with St. Louis this spring. Zuniga is leaving camp anyway to represent Colombia in the World Baseball Classic.
Naile allowed an earned run in 1 1/3 frames this spring. Parsons yielded three runs, including two long balls, in one inning. Whitley was charged with one run on two hits in an inning. Both Naile and Whitley are former 40-man roster members.
Crooks had two singles in five at-bats while Antonini had no plate appearances.
On The Cardinal Nation’s Top 50 Prospect List for 2023, Pacheco is ranked no. 17 and Crooks is 22nd.
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