The St. Louis Cardinals completed their second round of spring cuts following Wednesday night's Major League game and on Thursday morning. Third basemen David Freese and Rico Washington, outfielder Nick Stavinoha and catchers Matt Pagnozzi, Gabe Johnson and Bryan Anderson, all non-roster invitees, were re-assigned to Minor League camp.
For the Cardinals this spring, Freese went 1-for-5 and a walk with his lone hit a triple, but the recent acquisition from San Diego also committed two errors in the field. Freese was acquired over the winter in a trade for popular outfielder Jim Edmonds. The right-handed hitter, ranked #13a on our Scout.com Top Cardinals Prospect List, turns 25 years of age next month but has yet to play a regular season game above the A-Advanced level.
The minor league veteran Washington was 0-for-4 at the plate and also drew one free pass. Washington, who turns 30 in May, served as sort of a relief valve for the second consecutive season in 2007, splitting time between the Triple-A club and Double-A Springfield. He and Freese may be together at Memphis in 2008.
Stavinoha is a former top prospect whose career seems to have slowed in the last year. In limited spring action, the outfielder went 2-for-4, including a double. A strong season back in Triple-A is what the former LSU star needs most. The clock is ticking as the right-handed hitter turns 26 years of age in early May.
Pagnozzi, 25, nephew of the former Cardinals catcher Tom Pagnozzi, was 0-for-2 at the plate this spring and seems destined to return to Memphis in a reserve role.
Anderson, 21, our Cardinals’ second-ranked prospect, had only one hitless official at-bat in spring training games, but topped Johnson, a 28-year-old minor league veteran who did not have a plate appearance in major league games.
These moves bring the total number of NRIs in big league camp down to 13. 38 of the 39 players on the 40-man roster are also present for a current total of 51. This excludes Juan Encarnacion, but includes other injured players who will start the season on the disabled list, such as Chris Carpenter and Mark Mulder.
The next cuts are expected following the weekend trip to Orlando, where the Cardinals will face the Braves on Sunday and Monday.
| Prospect
NRIs |
|
| Pitchers |
Reassigned |
| Mitchell Boggs |
03/03/08 |
| Hugo Castellanos |
|
| Jaime Garcia |
03/03/08 |
| Tyler Herron |
03/03/08 |
| Clayton Mortensen |
|
| Adam Ottavino |
03/03/08 |
| Chris Perez |
|
| Stuart Pomeranz |
03/03/08 |
| P.J. Walters |
03/03/08 |
|
|
| Position
Players |
|
| David Freese |
03/05/08 |
| Amaury Marti |
|
| Colby Rasmus |
|
| Nick Stavinoha |
03/05/08 |
| Rico Washington |
03/05/08 |
|
|
| Catchers |
|
| Bryan Anderson |
03/06/08 |
| David Carpenter |
03/03/08 |
| Nick Derba |
03/03/08 |
| Gabe Johnson |
03/06/08 |
| Matt Pagnozzi |
03/05/08 |
| Brandon Yarbrough |
03/03/08 |
|
|
| Veteran
NRIs |
|
| Pitchers |
Reassigned |
| Dewon Brazelton |
03/03/08 |
| Ron Flores |
|
| Cliff Politte |
|
| Ron Villone |
|
| John Wasdin |
|
|
|
| Position
Players |
|
| Juan Gonzalez |
|
| D'Angelo Jimenez |
|
| Josh Phelps |
|
|
|
| Catchers |
|
| Mark Johnson |
|
Brian Walton can be reached via email at brwalton@earthlink.net.
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