Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals Bet on 25-Year-Old Lottery Ticket With Big Fastball

The St. Louis Cardinals made yet another good depth move on Thursday.
Patrick McAvoy|
Apr 24, 2022; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; A view of St. Louis Cardinals players hats and gloves in the dugout during a game with the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-Imagn Images
Apr 24, 2022; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; A view of St. Louis Cardinals players hats and gloves in the dugout during a game with the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-Imagn Images | David Kohl-Imagn Images

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St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals announced the addition of a bit more pitching depth on Thursday.

It's been a good offseason overall for the organization. Not star-studded, by any means, like the Los Angeles Dodgers or New York Mets, but the Cardinals have addressed key needs for the club and have completed three different trades involving players with no-trade clauses. That's no small feat. The Cardinals tried last offseason as well, but couldn't trade Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado or Miles Mikolas, at the time. So, the Cardinals pretty much had a lame-duck offseason last year and entered 2025 with a very similar roster to 2024.

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This offseason has been full of changes. Mikolas entered free agency and the club opened up spots for young guys by trading Gray, Arenado and Contreras. That's not all, though. The Cardinals have been strategic with their additions, including Dustin May and Ryne Stanek. St. Louis has added a handful of hurlers to the system and are now loaded with depth. Moves May and Stanek got a lot of headlines, but the Cardinals have also been shopping at the minor league level. For example, the team officially announced the signing of 25-year-old righty Robbie Knowles on Thursday.

"We have signed RHP Robbie Knowles to a minor league contract," the Cardinals announced. "Knowles, 25, joins his first professional organization after pitching his junior season at the University of Kansas in 2025."

Tread Athletics shared on X on Jan. 20 that the two sides were in agreement, but the Cardinals didn't announce the deal until Thursday.

Knowles is another lottery ticket for a low cost with upside. He pitched for the University of Kansas in 2025 and had a 10.97 ERA in 16 relief appearances. That number isn't great, but this is a 25-year-old righty who can get his fastball up to 97 miles per hour. He landed his deal with the Cardinals after Tread Athletics hosted a Pro Day, so clearly the Cardinals saw something in him as well.

He boasts a legit fastball and a couple of offspeed pitches. Now, he joins an organization that can try to develop him into a big league pitcher. A 10.97 ERA in college in 2025 doesn't sound great, but it doesn't really matter anymore. If the stuff is there and the Cardinals can mold him, that's what matters.

This is the type of move with only upside. Minor league deals don't cost much at all. Now, he'll have a chance to develop with the club. If he can make it to the big leagues at some point, that would be a massive win. If he doesn't no harm to the big league club.

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Patrick McAvoy
PATRICK MCAVOY

Patrick McAvoy's experiences include local and national sports coverage at the New England Sports Network with a focus on baseball and basketball. Outside of journalism, Patrick also is pursuing an MBA at Brandeis University. After quickly rising as one of the most productive writers on the site, he expanded his reach to write for Baseball Essential, a national baseball site in Sports Illustrated Media Group. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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