Cardinals Veteran Elects to Exit St. Louis, Enter Free Agency

The former St. Louis Cardinals hurler is now a free agent with a week to go in the regular season.

Jul 31, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Peter Strzelecki (58) rubs his forehead after being relived during the eighth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The St. Louis Cardinals will not be keeping veteran reliever Peter Strzelecki in the organization, at least for the time being.

On Sep. 16, the Cardinals announced that Strzelecki was activated off the 15-day Injured List and also that he was being designated for assignment. Two days later, the veteran reliever went unclaimed off waivers and the Cardinals outrighted him to Triple-A Memphis, per the official transaction log. But he has enough service time to make a decision for himself about a move and opted to elect free agency, rather than heading back to Triple-A Memphis.

So, now Strzelecki is a free agent with a week to go until the postseason begins across Major League Baseball. The Wild Card round is going to kick off on Sep. 29. Every team around the league has somewhere between five and seven regular season games left in the 2026 Major League Baseball regular season.

Peter Strzelecki Is A Free Agent

Aug 8, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Peter Strzelecki (58) throws against the Colorado Rockies during the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Plus, minor league seasons around the league have started to end as well. At this point, it would be a bit surprising to see Strzelecki land anywhere before the season comes to a close. There really isn't much time left in the campaign. At this point, the focus for clubs should be simply getting to the finish line — whether you're moving on to the playoffs, or going off into an early offseason.

After the season comes to an end, a club should absolutely take a chance on him for the 2027 season. Strzelecki only pitched in eight games in the majors for the Cardinals this season. He had a 5.79 ERA in 14 innings of action. But he does have upside. The righty made 23 appearances in the Milwaukee Brewers' system down with Triple-A Nashville earlier in the season and logged a 3.42 ERA. Like right now with the Cardinals, earlier in the season, the veteran was designated for assignment by the Brewers and opted to elect free agency.

Before the 2026 season, he last pitched in the majors back in 2024 with the Cleveland Guardians. He had a 2.31 ERA in 10 appearances.

In 2022, he logged a 2.83 ERA in 30 appearances as a rookie for the Milwaukee Brewers. Then, the next year, he had a 4.38 ERA in 37 appearances.

Strzelecki is the type of hurler you try to roll the dice on in the offseason on a minor league deal and see if he can earn a job on the big league roster out of Spring Training. While he may not be in St. Louis any longer, he provided some depth at a point when the Cardinals needed it, and he should get another shot soon.