The Cardinals introduced Tuesday that they’ve chosen the contracts of outfielder Matt Koperniak and right-handers Tink Therefore, Tekoah Roby and Matt Svanson. The staff added that left-hander Drew Rom went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Memphis. The Cardinals now have 39 gamers on their 40-man roster.
Of as we speak’s additions, Therefore is probably the most extremely regarded. The 22-year-old completed the season as a consensus top-100 prospect, inserting as excessive as thirtieth on Baseball America’s rankings and likewise touchdown forty sixth at FanGraphs and 61st at MLB.com. He spent 2024, his age-21 season, pitching on the Double-A degree, the place he logged a 2.71 ERA in an abbreviated workload.
Therefore began simply 20 video games on the season, tallying 79 2/3 innings whereas lacking practically all of June and July. The Cardinals didn’t specify the character of his harm, however Therefore departed his June 5 begin after two innings, returned to pitch one inning on June 23, after which didn’t return to the mound till July 27. Therefore’s season got here to an finish after he was lifted from a Sept. 11 begin following simply 1 1/3 innings.
Even with the truncated yr, Therefore stays one of many minor leagues’ most promising younger arms. He set down a whopping 34.1% of hitters on strikes in 2024 and confirmed common or higher command, with an 8.1% stroll fee. Therefore sits mid-90s with a heater that may climb to 98-99 mph, rounding out his repertoire with among the best changeups within the minors and a strong slider. There are some sturdiness issues even past this previous summer season, as he’s but to succeed in 100 frames in any season of his skilled profession. Nonetheless, he’s teeming with upside, and his Double-Successful may open the door for an enormous league debut later in 2025 if he can keep wholesome.
Roby, 23, has drawn his share of top-100 fanfare as nicely, although his inventory dipped amid shaky outcomes and harm troubles of his personal in 2024. FanGraphs ranked him 91th within the recreation at season’s finish, however he’d fallen off most different distinguished rankings. The 2020 third-rounder, chosen by the Rangers and traded to the Playing cards within the Jordan Montgomery swap, pitched simply 38 1/3 innings with a 6.57 ERA between Excessive-A and Double-A in ’24.
Roby has posted middling ERA numbers in his profession however repeatedly logged spectacular fee stats and garnered consideration from scouts as a consequence of plus uncooked stuff throughout the board — headlined by his curveball. Roby wants to enhance his command and show he can deal with a starter’s workload, as he’s a bit undersized at 6’1″ and has by no means reached 105 innings in a professional season.
The 26-year-old Koperniak signed with the Playing cards as an undrafted free agent in the summertime of 2020, following that yr’s five-round novice draft. He spent the entire 2024 season in Triple-A, the place he hit .309/.370/.512 with 20 homers, 28 doubles, three triples, 5 steals, an 8.4% stroll fee and an 18.7% strikeout fee. He performed all three outfield spots however spent the majority of his time in left discipline.
Svanson, 26 in January, was acquired from the Blue Jays within the commerce sending Paul DeJong to Toronto. He spent the 2024 season figuring out of the Double-A bullpen, the place he logged 63 2/3 innings of two.69 ERA ball with a 20.8% strikeout fee, 8.8% stroll fee and 52.7% ground-ball fee. He’ll presumably head to Triple-A early in 2025 and is a candidate for a glance within the huge leagues as quickly as this coming season.
Rom, who’ll flip 25 in just a few weeks, was acquired from the Orioles within the ’23 commerce sending Jack Flaherty to Baltimore. He struggled via eight begins with the Cardinals in 2023, yielding an 8.02 ERA, however missed all the 2024 season following arthroscopic shoulder surgical procedure. Since he’s already cleared waivers, Rom will keep on with the membership as a depth possibility for the upcoming season. He hasn’t had any huge league success but, however he had the look of a possible back-of-the-rotation starter within the Orioles’ system earlier than the shoulder harm ruined his 2024 season.
