photo: Genesis Cabrera (Springfield Cardinals)
On Tuesday, November 20, the day when rosters for the 2018 Rule 5 Draft must be set, the St. Louis Cardinals protected four players, and to make room, designated two players for assignment.
Update: On Monday, November 26, Derian Gonzalez was outrighted to Memphis and Conner Greene was claimed by Kansas City.
St. Louis Cardinals press release
The St. Louis Cardinals announced today, Tuesday, November 20, that they have selected the contracts of left-hander pitcher Genesis Cabrera (pronounced hen-e-sis), right-handed pitcher Ryan Helsley, outfielder Lane Thomas and infielder Ramón Urías from Memphis (AAA). The team also announced that they have designated for assignment right-handed pitchers Conner Greene and Derian Gonzalez. Today’s transactions currently place the team’s 40-man Major League roster at 40 players.
Cabrera, 22, and a native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, was acquired by the Cardinals in a July trade from Tampa Bay in exchange for outfielder Tommy Pham. Last season, the left-hander went a combined 8-9 with a 4.17 ERA (140.1 IP) and 148 strikeouts in 27 games (25 starts) between Montgomery (AA), Springfield (AA) and Memphis (AAA). The 6-1, 170-pound Cabrera pitched in four relief outings for the Redbirds in the postseason, hurling scoreless outings in the PCL Championship game (2.2 IP) and Triple-A title game (1.1 IP). Cabrera was originally signed by Tampa Bay as a non-drafted free-agent on November 11, 2013 and was recognized as a 2018 Southern League Mid-Season All-Star with Montgomery before being acquired by St. Louis.
Helsley, 24, the Cardinals 5th round pick out of Northeastern State (Okla.) in 2015, appeared in 13 games with three clubs during the 2018 season making stops in Springfield (AA), Memphis (AAA) and the GCL Cardinals while recovering from shoulder fatigue. He posted a 5-3 record with a 3.97 ERA and struck out 82 batters in 70.1 innings for a 10.5 strikeout/9 IP ratio. The 2017 Florida State League Most Valuable Pitcher struck out a season-high 10 batters twice, once in Springfield and once in Memphis, giving him five double-digit strikeout games in 62 career minor league starts. Helsley was a non-roster invitee to the Cardinals Major League Spring Training camp in 2018.
Thomas, 23, was acquired by the Cardinals in July 2017 from Toronto in exchange for international cap space. The right-handed hitting center fielder batted a combined .264 (136-515) with 27 home runs, six triples, 23 doubles, and 88 RBI in 132 games between Springfield (AA) and Memphis (AAA) in 2018. He led the Cardinals organization in home runs (T12th-most in Minor League baseball) and RBI, co-led in runs scored (84) and finished fifth in stolen bases (17). Thomas recently completed a 20-game stint with Surprise in the prospect-laden Arizona Fall League, where he hit .262 (16-61) with one home run, one double, 10 RBI and eight stolen bases. Recognized as a 2018 Texas League Mid-Season and Post-Season All-Star for Springfield (AA) and promoted to Memphis mid-season, the 6-1, 170-pound Thomas culminated his season by going 3-for-5 with a home run, triple and five RBI in the Triple-A Championship game. Thomas was originally selected by the Blue Jays in the 5th round of the June 2014, First-Year Player Draft out of Bearden High School in Knoxville, Tenn.
Urías, 24, played in 90 games between Springfield (AA) and Memphis (AAA) in his second professional season in Minor League Baseball and first in the Cardinals organization. He made starts at every infield position with his most at second base (48 starts). Urías combined to bat .300 with 13 home runs, 44 RBI and 28 doubles in his 90 games. He ranked eighth among all Cardinals minor leaguers in batting (min. 300 plate appearances) and his 28 doubles ranked third. Prior to joining the Cardinals, Urías played for five years (2013-17) in the Mexican League for the Mexico City Diablo Rojos after two years with the Texas Rangers Dominican Summer League team (2011-12). The utility infielder was a Mexican League All-Star in 2017 and helped lead Mexico City to a league championship in 2014, adding to those accolades by helping Memphis to the Triple-A championship this season.
Brian Walton’s take
Earlier this month, the Cardinals waived infielder Greg Garcia, catcher Francisco Peña and pitcher Matt Bowman. But clearing space was needed partially to make 40-man roster room for the players coming off the 60-day disabled list.
Coming into Tuesday, the Cardinals had just two open sports on their 40-man roster. In my opinion, Thomas, Helsley and Cabrera were must-adds and were the three I predicted on November 8 (subscriber article).
Among those on my bubble were infielders Urias and Max Schrock, with the latter ultimately passed over after a so-so 2018 at Memphis. Though Urias has not yet mastered Triple-A, he is both a better hitter and a more versatile defender than the second baseman Schrock.
The four new 40-man members by definition are invited to St. Louis’ major league spring training camp in February. Helsley was a non-roster invitee in 2018 and for the others, it will be a first.
As a result of the four additions, at least two players had to be removed. Greene’s stock was trending downward, especially after a very rough showing in the Arizona Fall League. Gonzalez suffered through an injury-plagued 2018, but rebounded well at Springfield late in the season. Both are hard-throwing right-handed relievers who have lacked consistency.
Being designated for assignment means that the two are immediately taken off the 40-man roster. Within the next seven days, each will either be claimed by another organization, going onto their 40-man, will clear waivers and be assigned to Memphis, or be released.
On Tuesday morning, I informed TCN members that three other notable eligibles – pitcher Junior Fernandez, catcher Dennis Ortega and outfielder Wadye Ynfante – were also not selected. And they were not. Even if taken in the Rule 5 draft, I would expect any of the three to eventually be returned.
Which reminds me, as I always tell readers, part of any team’s own assessment in preparation for the Rule 5 draft is whether the Rule 5-eligible player might be deemed major league-ready by another organization – and therefore, a good selection candidate. However, even more important is the estimation of the player’s ability to stick on the new team’s 25-man active MLB roster all of the next season.
Simply put, even if a player is selected in the major league phase of the Rule 5 Draft, he could still be returned later.
With the roster full, unless additional moves are made in the interim, the Cardinals will be unable to select anyone in the major league phase of the December 13 draft.
Coming up – exclusively for TCN members
Tomorrow, I will explain another set of Rule 5 tradeoffs not well understood or communicated. Each organization also had to decide which players to place on their Triple-A roster ahead of the draft. These are the ones who will be eligible to be selected in the major league phase of the Rule 5 draft on December 13.
Noting which players are included at Memphis (and which are not) tells us a lot about how individuals came out in the Cardinals’ organizational assessments mentioned above.
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Brian Walton can be reached via email at brian@thecardinalnation.com. Follow Brian on Twitter.
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