Cardinals Lose Dominant Double-A Hurler to Braves in Free Agency

Did this righty pitch his way out of the Cardinals org?

Aug 13, 2022; Miami, Florida, USA; A general view of the cap and glove of Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson (28) on the dugout steps in the ninth inning against the Miami Marlins at loanDepot park. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images | Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

Minor-league free agency is fascinating, because it's hard to tell from the outside what makes players move around.

Sometimes, if a prospect has been in an organization a long time and not performed, it's obvious that both sides would prefer a change of scenery. But that almost certainly wasn't the case for recent St. Louis Cardinals farmhand Ricardo Velez.

Velez came to the Cardinals last April after his release from the Minnesota Twins organization, and he was positively dominant. He gave the Cardinals farm teams a stingy 1.80 ERA in 65 innings, mostly at Double-A. Then, in a flash, he was gone.

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Can Velez capitalize on success as a Cardinal?

Feb 26, 2021; Jupiter, Florida, USA; A general view of the St. Louis Cardinals logo on the stadium at Roger Dean Stadium during spring training workouts. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images | Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

According to the transactions log on his official roster page, Velez signed with the Texas Rangers on Tuesday. It took at least a few additional days for the move to show up on his page, which is not uncommon when involving players who haven't appeared in the big leagues.

Velez, who stands 6-foot-1, 180 pounds, was a 2021 free-agent signing for the Twins out of the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. He generally posted strong stats along the way through the minors, but a rough 16-game stint in Double-A at the end of the 2024 season was evidently reason enough for the Twins to cut bait.

That could have been the Cardinals' long-term gain, but with Velez off to Texas, it now appears that if the 27-year-old winds up in the big leagues someday, it will be due at least partially to the adjustments he made as a St. Louis farmhand. He's almost exclusively become a reliever, an area where the Rangers are much weaker than in the rotation at the major league level.

If there's one positive, though, it's that the Cardinals seem to be improving at pitching development, which can only bode well for this club moving forward. Velez, however, could be a real loss if he maintains his upward trajectory.

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