Cardinals Sign Wilking Rodríguez To Minor League Deal

The St. Louis Cardinals have made a strategic move by re-signing right-handed reliever Wilking Rodríguez to a minor league deal, as reported by Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat. Rodríguez, 34 years old in March, is set to join the team as a non-roster invitee in Spring Training.

Returning to the organization he was technically a part of in 2023, Rodríguez was initially acquired from the Yankees in the Rule 5 draft. However, due to a right shoulder injury that required surgery, he spent the entire season on the injured list without making an appearance in a regular season game for the Cardinals. After being outrighted off the roster and electing free agency, he has now made a comeback in a non-roster capacity.

Rodríguez’s selection in the Rule 5 draft was quite unconventional, considering that most picks in that draft are young players who have not yet played in the big leagues. In contrast, Rodríguez made his major league debut back in 2014 with the Royals. Despite spending time away from affiliated ball and playing for teams in Venezuela and Mexico, the Yankees signed him in 2022 after noticing his impressive 2.01 earned run average and 43.2% strikeout rate in Mexico. The Cardinals then acquired him, but his potential was sidelined by the shoulder injury.

With the bullpen in a state of flux after trading away Chris Stratton and Jordan Hicks at last year’s deadline, Rodríguez will provide the Cardinals with added depth to address their collective 4.47 ERA from the previous season.