Cardinals part ways with minor-league slugger amid surprising transaction

The St. Louis Cardinals announced on Monday afternoon that they claimed left-handed pitcher Anthony Veneziano off of waivers from the Miami Marlins. They also announced that first baseman Luken Baker was claimed on waivers by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Veneziano, 27, has played in parts of three seasons in the majors with the Miami Marlins and Kansas City Royals. He started the 2024 season with the Royals and bounced between their Triple-A affiliate, the Omaha Storm Chasers, and the major-league team. He was designated for assignment in early September, and the Marlins claimed him off waivers soon after.

Veneziano threw a total of 13.1 innings in 2024 at the major-league level with a 3.38 ERA and 14 strikeouts. He walked only three batters and allowed one home run. This year with the Marlins, Veneziano posted a 4.71 ERA across 21 innings. He struck out 20 batters and walked 10.

Veneziano's most appealing quality to the Cardinals would be his handedness. The southpaw doesn't have overpowering stuff, as his fastball tops out around 94 MPH. He also features a sweeper with 11.5 inches of glove-side movement, a figure below league average. Veneziano also throws a slider, changeup, and sinker, though his most reliable pitch is his sweeper; batters are hitting just .217 against it.

Anthony is getting rocked regardless of who is against him this year. Righties have a .850 OPS against him, and lefties are posting a .915 OPS. He's been assigned to Triple-A Memphis for depth.

The most confusing part of today's transactions for the Cardinals revolves around Luken Baker.

St. Louis Cardinals waive Luken Baker and feel the consequences of inaction the last two years.

Part of the calculus in waiving Luken Baker was the club's recent acquisition of 22-year-old corner infielder Blaze Jordan. The Cardinals acquired Jordan when they sent reliever Steven Matz to the Boston Red Sox. Jordan has a similar profile to Baker: power bat with solid contact rates. Blaze is also six years younger than Baker.

Despite being a prolific slugger in the minors, Luken Baker failed to hit well at the majors. He has a career slash line of just .206/.317/.338 with four home runs in 160 at-bats. He's played quite sporadically at the majors since 2023, as he's had to sit behind veterans Paul Goldschmidt and Willson Contreras at first base.

Luken Baker's best year as a minor leaguer came in 2023 with the Memphis Redbirds. He slashed .334/.439/.720 while bopping 33 home runs. He is the all-time home run leader for Memphis. Baker is now a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the final weeks of the season. Given the Cardinals' history in seeing players go to Los Angeles to play, Baker will assuredly win the NLCS MVP this year (I say in jest, of course).

Baker's initial waiving was never posted on MLB's transaction log, nor was it reported by local beat writers. While it's not required to announce the waiving of a player, it is common practice by many organizations. Without an accompanying designation for assignment, it isn't necessarily a public transaction.

Seeing Baker go isn't necessarily surprising; again, there isn't much of a need for what he provides on the roster this year. The Cardinals probably should have traded him following his monstrous 2023 season when they still knew they wouldn't need a bat-first first baseman with no positional flexibility. While he couldn't have landed a true major leaguer or a top prospect by himself, he could have been attractive in a package for a reliever. The issue with trading a player like Baker at the time was that the Cardinals haven't necessarily been searching for relievers these last three years due to them being sellers or soft buyers.

Luken Baker now has the chance to play meaningful games in September and October with the Los Angeles Dodgers. After having spent seven years in the minors, I would say he's deserved a shot.