St. Louis Cardinals: More Cuts Made as Minor League Camp Gains Three More

Mar 13, 2016; Melbourne, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Anthony Garcia (81) watches the game from the dug out in the fifth inning against the Washington Nationals at Space Coast Stadium. The Washington Nationals and the St. Louis Cardinals tied 4-4. Mandatory Credit: Logan Bowles-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 13, 2016; Melbourne, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Anthony Garcia (81) watches the game from the dug out in the fifth inning against the Washington Nationals at Space Coast Stadium. The Washington Nationals and the St. Louis Cardinals tied 4-4. Mandatory Credit: Logan Bowles-USA TODAY Sports /
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The St. Louis Cardinals managed to score two runs on Sunday, lost, showed more weakness against a left-handed pitcher, and then cut three additional players to minor league camp.

Mike Leake (please Baseball-Reference get an updated headshot), who I feel has showed the best pitching of spring, showed another outstanding outing on Sunday.  Despite his great performance, the St. Louis Cardinals were seemingly stymied once again by a lefty on the mound.  Please, God, don’t let this become a norm again in 2016 as fans have witnessed plenty of seasons before…

After the game on Sunday, the Cardinals decided to trim the roster once again.  For a quick recap of trimmings made Sunday morning before the game, please go read my article published earlier today.

Jonathan Rodriquez

Jonathan Rodriquez is a young- 26 years old- first baseman in the organization.  Rodriquez last appeared in AA where he posted a slash line in 2015 of .275/.355/.414 and a first base fielding percentage of .990.

In 2016 spring, Rodriquez appeared in fourteen games and twenty at-bats.   In these appearances, he collected six hits (two doubles), four RBI, four walks, and scored five runs himself.  His spring slash line finished (for now) at .300/.440/.400 in this small sample size.

Rodriquez is likely headed to Memphis to spell the absence at first and to gain additional everyday experience.  I look forward to watching this 6’2″ 205lb youngster (eat that Heyward– sorry, not sorry) develop into a great player.

Anthony Garcia

As though the Cardinals do not have enough players with the last name Garcia, Anthony Garcia showed some outstanding work this spring.  Unlike Rodriquez, A. Garcia appeared for a while at AAA last season where he posted a slash line of .276/.344/.483 and fielding percentages of .972 (LF), 1.000 (RF), and .979 (when playing multiple OF positions).  For more on A. Garcia, see Landon’s review.

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In 2016 spring, A. Garcia (24 years old) appeared in fourteen games and 36 at-bats.   In these appearances, he collected eight hits (five doubles, one triple, one home run), six RBI, one walk, and scored four runs himself.  His spring slash line finished (for now) at .229/.250/.764 in this small sample size.

This to-be-amazing player will serve Memphis well in their plot for the PCL championship and should see a call-up at some point this season.  Watch for him.

Patrick Wisdom

I was quite high on Patrick Wisdom coming into spring and I doubt I was alone in this praise.  Spring, however, wasn’t terribly kind to Wisdom.  Wisdom’s Sampson-like long hair did not seem to help him this spring but, even in saying this, he didn’t present terribly.  Rather, Wisdom presented like a player in need of additional work which directly lead to his cut today.

In 2016 spring, 24-year-old Wisdom appeared in nine games and seventeen at-bats.   In these appearances, he collected three hits (one double, one home run), three RBI, one walk, and scored three runs himself.  His spring slash line finished (for now) at .176/.222/.412 in this small sample size.

Wisdom needs work for sure and has often been thought of as trade bait by me and other Redbird Rants writers (see my supposition in my erroneous Aybar article and even as far back as Steven’s trade bait article just to name a few).

Next: Ruben Tejada adds competition at shortstop

The roster trimming continues and will likely do so even more in the coming days.  This is an exciting time of year and much can be read into both the cuts and who remains.  In this vein, what do you think of the fact that Jacob Wilson, Jeremy Hazelbaker, and Carlos Peguero still remain in big camp?  Interested?  Let’s discuss on Twitter!  GO CARDS!!