photo: Tommy Layne (Dan Hamilton/USA TODAY Sports)
The St. Louis Cardinals made their first minor league signing of the 2018-2019 off-season – a player who had been with the organization before becoming a free agent following the World Series – left-handed relief pitcher Tommy Layne.
2018 success
The 33-year old first joined the Cardinals organization on June 15 and was assigned to Double-A Springfield. In his week in the Texas League, Layne retired seven of eight batters, yielding one hit and striking out two.
Following his June 22 promotion, Layne quickly became a leader in the Memphis bullpen. Over his 26 2/3 Pacific Coast League innings, he logged an ERA of 1.35, allowing just four earned runs in his 27 appearances (all in one game). He struck out 34 and issued just four free passes.
Before a shaky outing against Durham in the Triple-A Championship, the St. Louis native had pitched 11 2/3 innings (nine appearances) of scoreless baseball, becoming manager Stubby Clapp’s go-to option out of the bullpen.
Despite his stellar results, Layne was passed over for a September promotion to St. Louis, likely because he did not have a 40-man roster spot. Following the season, The Cardinal Nation named Layne our Memphis Redbirds Relief Pitcher of the Year for 2018.
At this time, it is unclear whether Layne will receive a 2019 big-league spring training camp invitation as a non-roster player, but considering everything, I would give it very high odds.
Prior history
Layne had spent time in the big leagues with the San Diego Padres, the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, going 8-5 with a 3.61 ERA through 216 career games. He posted a career-best 0.95 ERA in 30 appearances (19.0 IP) for Boston in 2014, before setting a career mark with 64 appearances for the Red Sox in 2015.
Layne split 2017 between the Yankees, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (NYY-AAA) and Oklahoma City (LAD-AAA). He signed a Minor League deal with the Red Sox in February, appearing in eight Spring Training games this year. Layne was released off Boston’s Triple-A roster on May 18.
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Brian Walton can be reached via email at brian@thecardinalnation.com. Follow Brian on Twitter.
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