Cardinals Hurler Elects Free Agency After Promising Season With St. Louis

The St. Louis Cardinals made an unusual decision last offseason that kicked off one of the more intriguing but ultimately underwhelming storylines of 2023.

St. Louis made waves last winter when they selected right-hander Wilking Rodríguez from the New York Yankees in the most recent Major League Baseball Rule 5 Draft. The draft is typically used to poach young overlooked prospects in need of a fresh start but the Cardinals swiped a 34-year-old reliever.

One year later, Rodríguez has elected free agency in lieu of a non-40-man roster spot with Triple-A Memphis, the club announced.

Rodríguez did not have much time to show his ability -- the Venezuelan hurler opened the season on the injured list for a right-shoulder injury that required surgery -- but was able to show off in a few rehab stints to end the season.

Rodríguez posted a 0.00 ERA with six strikeouts, a pair of walks, a .238 batting average against and 1.24 WHIP in 5 2/3 innings for Triple-A Memphis.

It makes sense for Rodríguez to test the waters of free agency but a reunion should not be ruled out. He did enough to earn a minor-league deal in St. Louis. For him, it would be job security for a player who has bounced around various affiliated baseball leagues for the last decade.

That said, Rodríguez's departure will not dismantle the Cardinals' pitching staff. He would have been a solid depth option with upside but it's not like St. Louis had him penciled in as a high-leverage reliever to open the 2024 season.

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Published Nov 15, 2023

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

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