The Cardinals are making a roster shuffle that tells you plenty about where they see the upside. Nelson Velázquez, brought in this offseason as a right-handed bat with some pop, is being removed from the active roster to clear a spot for waiver claim Everson Pereira.
Jeff Jones reported, “Cardinals will be removing Nelson Velázquez from the active roster tomorrow to open an active spot for Everson Pereira. He is out of options, so that will require a DFA or release.”
Velázquez did give St. Louis some useful work in the role they carved out for him.
He mostly operated as a platoon option against left-handed pitching and saw action in both corner outfield spots and at designated hitter. Against southpaws, he finished the season with a .758 OPS and a .473 slugging percentage.
But the rest of the package never really matched that part of his game. He struggled badly against right-handed pitching and was a liability in the outfield, which made his hold on a roster spot pretty fragile once another option came along.
There was at least one memorable spike in his Cardinals run. Velázquez was one of the more talked-about names in spring training after tearing up Jupiter, though he still didn’t break camp with the big-league club.
When he finally debuted in May, he delivered a huge moment right away, launching a three-run homer off Cubs starter Shota Imanaga to tie the game in his first at-bat with St. Louis.
“NELSON VELAZQUEZ TIE GAME!!! pic.twitter.com/WSiiK83nkA”
Now the Cardinals are moving on, either by granting him an immediate release or designating him for assignment. That opens the door for Pereira to make his Cardinals debut.
Pereira brings a different kind of upside. He’s a former top 100 prospect with real power, but his career has been dragged down by major swing-and-miss problems.
Even at 25, he has bounced from team to team because he chases too often and simply misses too much. If that doesn’t change, the power won’t matter nearly as much as it should.
Still, the Cardinals have room to find out. Pereira can handle center field, though he may fit better in a corner, and his minor league track record has included eye-popping power production in different sample sizes. With no clear long-term answer in center field, he has a chance to compete for that spot or at least stake a claim as a fourth outfielder.
He may end up less effective than Velázquez and be let go down the road, too. But in a similar sample size this season, Pereira has posted a better OPS against lefties at .790 and has been a little more steady against right-handers.
For a Cardinals team in a rebuild, that’s the sort of flyer worth taking. Signing Velázquez made sense at the time, and this one does too.
Most of these bets go nowhere. When one hits, it can become a useful piece for the future.
Velázquez looks headed out, and Pereira now gets his shot to make something of the opening.
In Other News...
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For a pitcher, even being in position to matter offensively is unusual enough. Ending up as one of the only hurlers this season to both drive in a run and score one in the same inning puts Mikolas in a tiny club, with Shohei Ohtani the other name attached to the feat. It was the kind of odd little footnote that reminds you baseball still finds ways to surprise, even in the margins. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Watch Tink Hence's Prospect Rise Take Another Tough Turn
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For a pitcher once viewed as one of the organizations more notable rising arms, the latest transaction is another reminder of how quickly a prospects trajectory can shift. Removing him from the 40-man roster gives the Cardinals more flexibility, but it also leaves Hence trying to reset in a much quieter setting while the club continues sorting out its pitching depth. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Fans Finally Have A Real Reason To Watch Springfield
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Springfield is loaded with talent in a way that makes it worth following closely, with 12 of St. Louis top 30 prospects on the roster. Rainiel Rodriguez, Liam Doyle and Jurrangelo Cijntje give the affiliate a higher-end feel, and the recent additions and encouraging performances throughout the farm system have only added to the sense that the Cardinals may finally be stockpiling enough impact pieces to matter down the road. [Read more 🡒]