The St. Louis Cardinals seemingly picked the pocket of the Boston Red Sox in the 2023 Rule 5 draft, when they grabbed Ryan Fernandez, who became one of the top relief pitchers on the team last season. But the Cardinals might wind up on the other side of the coin next season, as the Milwaukee Brewers selected left-handed pitcher Connor Thomas from the Cardinals in the major league phase of 2024's Rule 5 draft.
Before 2024, Thomas struggled in Triple-A Memphis, but had a career year in his third go-around at the level. amassing a 7-5 record while holding a stellar 2.89 ERA. Despite his efforts, the Cardinals did not protect him on the 40-man roster, allowing the Brewers to swoop in.
Milwaukee is a noted pitching factory that continually develops fringe hurlers into solid major league players, examples of which include Corbin Burnes, Josh Hader, Devin Williams, Freddy Peralta and Brandon Woodruff. Their choice of Thomas in the Rule 5 draft could suggest that Milwaukee believes his 2024 breakout was real and that he can serve as a viable major league arm.
The Cardinals can afford to offload Thomas, as they have quietly begun to assemble some respectable pitching depth on their 40-man roster. Tink Hence is leading the charge, but Gordon Graceffo, Michael McGreevy, Tekoah Roby and Matt Svanson are also on the roster and have displayed upside. That's not to mention Quinn Mathews, who is not yet on the 40-man roster but might have a higher ceiling than any other pitcher in the organization.
The Cardinals 40-man roster currently stands at 38 players, so the team could be planning to peruse the free agent market, although they shouldn't be expected to be big spenders given the budget cuts that are occurring. President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak did say that the Cardinals will make an attempt to lure Japanese superstar Roki Sasaki to St. Louis, but with nearly every team likely gunning for Sasaki, the Cardinals likely aren't a major contender to land him.
While the Brewers' pitching lab hums along, the Cardinals are just now beginning to make strides in the modern pitching landscape. Cardinals fans will be keeping tabs on Thomas to see if the team's decision to leave him unprotected was harmless or if yet another player will excel in an environment that knows how to get the most out of him.