Cardinals allow intriguing arm to test free agency while hanging onto the wrong one

The St. Louis Cardinals made some small transactions at the outset of free agency, but none have added reinforcements from elsewhere around the league. One decision, though, may allow rival clubs to swoop in and receive some quality innings from a minor league reliever the Cardinals surprisingly never called upon despite atrocious lefty relief options in the big league bullpen.

Oddanier Mosqueda elected to become a free agent after failing to get a chance with the Cardinals

Oddanier Mosqueda was selected in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft last season, swiping him from the Yankees and sending him to Memphis with the hopes of him developing into a major league bullpen option. Just 26 years old, Mosqueda has been pitching in affiliated baseball since signing with the Red Sox as a teenager out of Venezuela. The lefty stuck with the Boston organization until 2023, reaching as high as Triple-A while consistently striking out more than a batter per inning. The command was a concern as he walked at least 11% of hitters in every season except for two, when he still did not walk fewer than 8% of batters.

He was able to limit the damage against him despite the free passes by keeping opponents struggling to make contact. In eight of his nine seasons, Mosqueda allowed a .228 batting average against or lower, keeping that number below .200 in four of those years. The Yankees were intrigued enough to sign him away from Boston following the 2023 season, and he put up a 7-1 campaign with Scranton. The record was deceiving, though, as he had a mid-4 ERA and still walked 4.9 hitters per nine innings. Even with the walks, Mosqueda still kept his electric strikeout stuff with a 29.7% K-rate and a .199 opponent batting average. As he became eligible for the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft, the Cardinals took notice and stole him away from New York.

Mosqueda nearly replicated his 2024 season, but did see a decrease in his strikeouts while showing slightly improved command. While the major league bullpen struggled in St. Louis, it seemed like only a matter of time before Mosqueda received his first call to the bigs. However, that call never came. The team opted to give innings to John King, Nick Raquet, and Anthony Veneziano while Mosqueda kept doing his thing in Memphis. Veneziano is no longer with the organization and Raquet received his chance after an 8-1 season in Springfield despite struggling in Triple-A.

King had a solid first season and a half with the Cardinals, but hit a wall in 2025 as his 93mph fastball and 12.6% strikeout rate bit him big time this season. King was smashed by opposing batters as they put up a .313 batting average against the lefty who was supposed to be used in blowout situations, but mostly made things worse with his 4.66 ERA and eight homers he allowed in just 48.1 innings.

Disappointing to me, King still looks to be in consideration for the major league bullpen as he approaches his age-31 season with nothing that really shows he is ready to break out. Mosqueda on the other hand, offers a harder fastball, double the strikeout rate, and keeps opponents from making solid contact. Wherever he ends up this season, I hope he gets the chance to show St. Louis what they were missing by leaving him in Memphis all year.