Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals Make Surprise DFA; Cutting Ties With Talented Young Hurler

St. Louis made a shocking move to kickoff the week

Scott Neville

Cardinals Make Surprise DFA; Cutting Ties With Talented Young Hurler
Cardinals Make Surprise DFA; Cutting Ties With Talented Young Hurler /
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The St. Louis Cardinals are preparing to shake up the roster at the upcoming Major League Baseball Trade Deadline and now have the first surprising move under their belt. 

"The Cardinals are designating left-handed reliever Génesis Cabrera for assignment," The Athletic's Katie Woo tweeted Monday. "Cabrera has been with the team since 2019. A surprising move given his presumed trade interest, though he can still be traded within 7 days of being DFA’d.

"Cabrera appeared in 32 games for St. Louis this season. Numbers were high: 5.06 ERA, 1.563 WHIP. But given his stuff and velocity from the left side when he's right, a contending team is likely to take a chance on him."

Cabrera has been roughed up this season but has had success in seasons past and has yet to enter his prime. The 26-year-old entered the year with a career 3.95 ERA, 160-to-83 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .215 batting average against, 1.32 WHIP and 102 ERA+ in 157 1/3 innings across 142 games.

St. Louis is choosing to cut ties with a young southpaw whose fastball averages 95.8 mph to head an electric five-pitch mix. He has to put it all together but that is what lost seasons -- such as this one -- are for. 

Instead, he'll likely head to a contender, ideally via trade, and he'll be under his new team's control through the 2025 season. 

More MLB: Cardinals Slugger Loosely Linked To Red Sox As Trade Rumors Heat Up

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Scott Neville
SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the St. Louis Cardinals for FanNation's "Inside The Cardinals" on Sports Illustrated. Before starting "Inside The Cardinals", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox."  After a few months as the top Major League Baseball site in the program, Neville sought expansion and pitched "Inside The Cardinals," one of the newest additions to FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group. The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Cardinals" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu