Former A's Lefty Signs with St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals may have a role for him that the A's couldn't offer

Sep 3, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Chicago White Sox pitcher Jared Shuster (51) throws a second inning pitch against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

The A's have been on the lookout to add on this winter, while the St Louis Cardinals have been making some big subtractions, trading away Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras to the Boston Red Sox, with more players left on the trade block to be moved.

However, the two clubs swapped places for a day. According to Jon Morosi of MLB Network, the Cardinals have signed left-handed relief pitcher Jared Shuster to a minor-league deal with an invite to spring training. Shuster had been picked up by the A's off the waiver wire in mid-August before he was released by the club on December 10.

When Shuster was originally picked up, he seemed like he could serve as a southpaw option for the A's in 2026, with Sean Newcomb hitting the free agent market and a lack of lefty options to choose from in the farm system.

The 27-year-old is a former first round pick of the Atlanta Braves, selected No. 25 overall in the 2020 Draft. In his time with the Athletics, he made it into 10 games with Triple-A Las Vegas, holding an 8.53 ERA (5.55 FIP) across 12 2/3 innings of work. In that span, he gave up 18 hits, 13 runs (12 earned), walked seven and struck out seven.

He'd been a little better with the White Sox affiliate, holding a 6.04 ERA (5.73 FIP), but he still gave up 31 hits in 22 1/3 innings of work. He also walked just seven batters in the larger sample, and struck out 21.

Shuster also made an appearance with the White Sox in the big leagues, racking up 15 2/3 innings and holding an 8.04 ERA in limited work between April and the beginning of June. His biggest problem followed him to The Show, and that was allowing entirely too many hits. In this stint, he was allowing nearly two per inning on average, with hitters batting .365 against him.

Morosi, who broke the news, thinks that he has a shot to make it into the Cardinals' Opening Day bullpen. In looking at all of the numbers we've laid out, that's tough to see. However, his FIP was just 2.94 in the big leagues in 2025.

This is partially due to the quality of contact (or lack thereof) that he was giving up. Batters were averaging an exit velocity of just 84.8 miles per hour against him, which is among the best in the league. Pair that with the fact that he was much closer to at least a league average arm against left-handers, and he could have a role in a big league bullpen after all.

Against lefties, he gave up just eight hits in six innings of work (19 in 9 2/3 against righties) and held a 1.50 WHIP. That number was 2.38 against right-handers last season with Chicago. If the Cardinals can make it so that he's facing more left-handed bats in 2026, then they could have a decent addition on their hands.