photo: Nick Wittgren (Jeffrey Becker/USA TODAY Sports)
The St. Louis Cardinals added their second veteran pitcher in three days, with the latest former Cleveland reliever Nick Wittgren joining the club on a one-year contract.
St. Louis Cardinals press release
The St. Louis Cardinals announced today (Sunday, March 13) that they have agreed to terms with free-agent right-handed pitcher Nick Wittgren.
Wittgren, 30, was originally drafted by the Miami Marlins out of Purdue University in the ninth round of the 2012 draft and made his Major League debut in 2016.
Over 258 career appearances, Wittgren has compiled an 18-15 record with a 3.75 ERA and 265 strikeouts covering 271.1 innings. He locked down five saves, all coming as a member of the Cleveland franchise the last three seasons.
With a penchant to strand runners, Wittgren has an inherited runners scored mark of 19.8%, ranking 6th among Major League pitchers since 2016.
In 2021, Wittgren posted a 2-9 record while establishing career-high marks with 60 appearances, 62.1 innings pitched and 61 strikeouts, including his first ever Major League start.
Since his debut in 2016, Wittgren ranked 20th in Major League Baseball in strikeout/walk ratio (3.49) among pitchers with 250 or more appearances.
Wittgren will report to Cardinals camp today and wear uniform number 30.
Brian Walton’s take
The Cardinals have to be hoping for a bounce back, as in 2021, Wittgren logged a 5.05 ERA/4.84 FIP and a -0.3 fWAR in his third season with the Indians. One factor was his career-high home run allowed rate of 1.9 per nine innings. (As a point of comparison, in-season acquisitions J.A. Happ and Jon Lester were worst on the 2021 Cardinals at 1.5 HR/9.)
Following the season, Wittgren was outrighted off Cleveland’s 40-man roster and opted for free agency rather than join their Triple-A club.
The value of Wittgren’s one-year contract is $1.2 million per national writer Ken Rosenthal. With the signing, St. Louis’ 40-man roster has 38 players.
The right-hander is the second veteran pitcher signed by the Cardinals in the last three days, following Drew VerHagen. With a 13-man pitching staff and five healthy starters assumed, the tentative bullpen looks like the two newcomers plus veterans Giovanny Gallegos, Genesis Cabrera, T.J. McFarland, Alex Reyes and Jordan Hicks. That would leave just one spot, with the returning competitors being Junior Fernandez, Kodi Whitley, Ryan Helsley and Jake Woodford, among others.
While there is a chance MLB will allow expanded rosters early in the season due to the compressed spring training, that would offer just interim roster relief. On the other side of the coin, over the long 162-game season, depth will be needed, especially on the pitching side.
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