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St. Louis Cardinals: Old Cards Faces in Brand New Places

By Landon Clapp

Mar 17, 2014; Fort Myers, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Tony Cruz (48) and center fielder Jon Jay (19) and shortstop Daniel Descalso (33) talk with former teammate Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Edward Mujica (54) before the game at JetBlue Park. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 17, 2014; Fort Myers, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Tony Cruz (48) and center fielder Jon Jay (19) and shortstop Daniel Descalso (33) talk with former teammate Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Edward Mujica (54) before the game at JetBlue Park. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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Tony Cruz

The Cardinals drafted Tony Cruz in the 26th round of the 2007 MLB draft out of Palm Beach Community College in Lake Worth, FL.

Cruz moved quickly through rookie ball and then each level of A-ball, reaching AA Springfield for the start of the 2009 season. However, after slashing just .220/.281/.366 in 110 games with Springfield that year, Cruz found himself back in High-A ball at Palm Beach to start the 2010 season.

After 46 games with Palm Beach to start the 2010 campaign, Cruz returned to Springfield where he slashed .289/.363/.477 with six home runs in 40 games played. He appeared in four games with AAA Memphis at the tail end of 2010.

Sep 30, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Tony Cruz (48) rounds the bases on a two run home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the ninth inning at PNC Park. The Cardinals won 11-1. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 30, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Tony Cruz (48) rounds the bases on a two run home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the ninth inning at PNC Park. The Cardinals won 11-1. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

Cruz played 45 games with Memphis in 2011 before being called up to the Major League squad when former Cardinal catcher Gerald Laird was placed on the disabled list with a fractured finger. Cruz made it onto the team’s 40-man roster going into the postseason and was a member of the 2011 World Championship club.

In all, Cruz slashed .220/.262/.310 while appearing in 259 games across five seasons in St. Louis. While he never had impressive offensive numbers in his time with the Cardinals, Cruz’s presence proved to be invaluable when he did a very quality job of filling in for Yadier Molina during his 2014 and 2015 DL stints.

After the Cards signed veteran catcher Brayan Pena this offseason to serve as Molina’s new backup, the team traded Cruz to the Kansas City Royals for shortstop prospect Jose Martinez.

Cruz will compete with Drew Butera for the backup job of starting catcher Salvador Perez this spring. Butera slashed just .198/.266/.267 in 45 games with the Royals last year, so Cruz will have his fair shot at earning that spot in 2016.

It would be nice to see Cruz earn the backup job ahead of 2016. If he is able to improve on his swing and become a formidable offensive option at the catcher position, he could warrant enough interest to be considered for a starting job somewhere down the line.

If Cruz struggles this spring and Butera looks like the better backup option, Cruz could find himself back in AAA with the Royals. At 29-years-old, that would be a pretty big blow to the future career prospects of the former Cardinal catcher.

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