photo: Kyle Leahy (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The St. Louis Cardinals made five roster cuts Thursday morning, reassigning five non-roster players to minor league camp.
St. Louis Cardinals release
The St. Louis Cardinals announced today (Thursday, March 21) that the team has reduced its Spring Training roster to 41 players, sending five players to their minor league camp.
The team re-assigned the following non-roster players to their minor league camp: RHP Kyle Leahy, RHP Wilking Rodríguez, catchers Nick Raposo and Wade Stauss, and outfielder Matt Koperniak.
The team currently has 38 Major League roster players and three non-roster invitees remaining in its Major League camp.
Brian Walton’s take
None of these moves in the fourth round of cuts were surprising, though Leahy and Koperniak stood out this spring. Both pitchers sent down are former 40-man roster right-handers.
Leahy threw six innings over seven games, allowing just one run on three hits, no walks and five strikeouts. Along with his 1.50 ERA, he logged two saves. Leahy will return to the Memphis bullpen.
The former Rule 5 pick from the Yankees had a rough spring, charged with eight earned runs in 6 1/3 relief innings (11.37 ERA). Rodriguez fanned six, but walked seven and yielded eight hits, including two long balls. He will also rejoin the Triple-A pen.
Catcher Raposo went 2-for-15 on the spring (.133) with two walks and two strikeouts. He will likely be a reserve catcher at Triple-A.
In spring games, Stauss went 0-for-2 with a strikeout. He may be a reserve backstop at Double-A.
Koperniak received 26 at-bats in 20 games. The outfielder slashed a respectable .308/.333/.385/.718 slash line. Koperniak plated five but struck out seven times against one walk. He should compete for a starting corner outfield job with Memphis.
What is next
Expect further cuts before the Cardinals leave Florida on Sunday for two games in Arizona. Final reductions to 26 may not occur until next Wednesday.
For more
To see all players in the system by level and position plus every transaction all year ‘round, check out the always free Roster Matrix here at The Cardinal Nation, refreshed today.
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