St. Louis Cardinals: The Ryan Meisinger saga lives on

BALTIMORE, MD - JUNE 29: Ryan Meisinger #52 of the Baltimore Orioles walks back to the dugout after pitching in the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim during his MLB debut at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on June 29, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - JUNE 29: Ryan Meisinger #52 of the Baltimore Orioles walks back to the dugout after pitching in the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim during his MLB debut at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on June 29, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

One of the St. Louis Cardinals’ waiver claims from earlier in the year was in DFA limbo and has found a home in AAA Memphis after not being claimed.

St. Louis Cardinals fans everywhere can take a deep breath. We didn’t lose Ryan Meisinger. Most fans are obviously wondering who exactly Meisinger is which is understandable because he has never worn the birds on the bat.

Ryan Meisinger was acquired on December 10th in a waiver claim by the Cardinals from the Baltimore Orioles. For some reason the move caused some turmoil among Cardinals fans as the signing came during a particularly boring lull in the hot stove season and everyone wanted a bigger more exciting move.

After being on the team’s 40 man roster for just 11 days after being claimed on December 10th, the Cardinals decided to DFA Meisinger in response to signing veteran reliever Andrew Miller. Because of the holidays, Meisinger spent 13 days in the limbo of the claiming process. After no teams claimed him, Meisinger will officially be assigned to  AAA Memphis.

The Meisinger waiver claim is strictly a depth move for the Cardinals. All the outcry is only because people just don’t want to be happy and always find something to be angry about. It didn’t cost the Cardinals anything but a roster spot and a little cash.

After being drafted in the 11th round of the 2015 MLB draft, Meisinger methodically worked his way up the Orioles minor league system and then made his debut in the big leagues this season. What the tweet featured above neglects to mention is that Meisinger had a 6.43 ERA in his 21 innings last year with the Orioles which leaves a lot to be desired.

Where there is some hope for Meisinger’s future is in his AAA numbers. Over just under 28 innings in 2018, Meisinger had just a 2.28 ERA with a 10.9% ground-ball percentage and 11.71 K/9. That is a small sample size, but it is some sort of positive for Meisinger to look to replicate in the majors.

Meisinger is really just a depth/lottery pitcher for the Cardinals. I would not be surprised to see him at some point in St. Louis this year, but in no more than a Tyler Webb-esque role. In the meantime, he will get to wear Cardinal red, something most only dream about.

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