Photo: Cory Spangenberg (Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY Sports)
St. Louis Cardinals Press Release
JUPITER, Fla., March 25, 2022 – The St. Louis Cardinals announced today several roster moves as they optioned pitchers Packy Naughton, Johan Quezada, Angel Rondón and T.J. Zeuch to the Memphis (AAA) roster and assigned pitcher Zack Thompson to minor league camp. In addition, pitcher Alex Reyes (right shoulder) has been placed on the 60-day Injured List, and the team has selected the contract of pitcher Aaron Brooks to the team’s 40-player Major League roster.
The team also announced that it has agreed to terms on a minor league contract with veteran infielder/outfielder Cory Spangenberg, and have invited him to join in the team’s Major League Spring Training Camp.
The left-handed hitting Spangenberg, 31, has compiled a career .256 batting mark with 29 HR’s and 119 RBI in 419 games with San Diego (2014-18) and Milwaukee (2019). The former 1st round (10th player overall) draft selection of the Padres in 2011 has seen extensive time at third base and second base, while also playing shortstop and the outfield.
Spangenberg played in Japan from 2020-21 with Seibu of the Nippon Professional Baseball league, homering 15 times in 111 games played for the Lions in 2020. Spangenberg will wear uniform no. 18.
Blake Newberry’s Take
The Alex Reyes shoulder injury has been known for some time, and it has been speculated that he would be added to the 60-day IL, so this move is not a surprise. By optioning him to the 60-day IL, the Cardinals opened a 40-man roster spot that was then filled by Aaron Brooks.
With rosters expanding to 28 players at the start of the season, the Cardinals now have two extra roster spots to use, and I would expect both of those spots to go to pitchers, with one being Brooks. To be on the MLB roster, the team would have needed to add Brooks to the 40-man anyway, so doing it now is a sign that his role likely lies in St. Louis on Opening Day.
Brooks is currently competing for the fifth rotation spot, so his role is still unknown, even as his level of competition is becoming clearer.
The other part of the announcement deals with he next wave of Spring Training cuts being announced as five pitchers being moved to Memphis.
None of the five cuts were surprising, though three of them had MLB experience. Angel Rondon made his MLB debut last year but he also struggled in Triple-A. The same is true of Packy Naughton, who was recently claimed by the Cardinals, as detailed earlier at TCN. T.J. Zeuch has bounced between the majors and Triple-A in recent years and was always a longshot to make the roster.
While Zack Thompson was simply reassigned, Naughton, Quezada, Rondon, and Zeuch were all optioned to Triple-A. The result is the same for all five but the latter four needed to be optioned because they were on the 40-man roster.
In regards to the new minor league signing, Cory Spangenberg reportedly (via John Denton) came highly recommended by new bench coach Skip Schumaker. The infielder spent five seasons with the Padres, where he overlapped with Schumaker, and 2019 with the Brewers before playing in Japan for the past two seasons. The 31-year-old has spent most of his time playing second base, third base, and left field, but he has also seen limited time at shortstop, right field, and center field.
Last year in Japan, Spangenburg had a .713 OPS, though he was much better in 2020 (.807 OPS). In Japan, he primarily played third base and outfield. He is the third player the Cardinals have signed from Asia leading up to the 2022 season, joining Aaron Brooks and Drew VerHagen.
Spangenburg has a career 92 wRC+, though the left-handed hitter has done most of his damage against right handers (102 wRC+ vs 56 wRC+ against LHPs). He marks the second left-handed hitting depth piece signed by the Cardinals recently, with the other being outfielder Corey Dickerson.
The utilityman should provide competition for a bench spot with Brendan Donovan, though it is possible that both begin the year in Triple-A, especially if the Cardinals use the two extra roster spots on pitchers.
To see all players remaining in camp by position, check out the always-free Roster Matrix here at The Cardinal Nation.
St. Louis Cardinals Organization Roster Matrix – 2022 Spring Training
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