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As the title suggests, the St. Louis Cardinals have selected the contracts for four players and assigned Drew Rom to AAA-Memphis after he went unclaimed on waivers, bringing the number of players on the 40-man up to 39. The players added were:
Matt Koperniak, outfield
Tink Hence, right-handed pitcher
Tekoah Roby, right-handed pitcher
Matt Svanson, right-handed pitcher
Of these players, I think Tink Hence might be the most anticipated to join the roster. He spent 2024 in AA-Springfield, only pitching just under 73 innings due to an unnamed injury he suffered in June that cost him nearly two-months of the season. This is particularly concerning because it delayed his development and prevented him from building up innings. There are also concerns that his stature (6’1”, 195 lbs.) combined with his fastball velocity at around 98-99 mph might lend to increased injury risk, though I am not sure if that is just what conventional wisdom suggests or if there are scientific and anatomical theories that support that.
In his shortened AA-season Hence was as dominant as he was in low-A, seeming to settle in and adjust after his initial promotion to AA in 2023. He pitched a 2.71 ERA with a 2.51 FIP, allowed 0.56 home runs per nine innings, and struck out 34.1% of batters while walking 8.1%. Personally, I love a good changeup (it is probably my favorite pitch), so hopefully durability does not become an issue for Hence and we can see one of the best changeups in the minors on a regular basis.
Here is a look at the Cardinals current 40-man roster:
St. Louis Cardinals 40-man roster
| No. | Player Name | B/T | Ht | Wt | DOB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Player Name | B/T | Ht | Wt | DOB |
| Pitchers | |||||
| 12 | Erick Fedde | R/R | 6' 4" | 205 | 2/25/1993 |
| 64 | Ryan Fernandez | R/R | 6' 0" | 200 | 6/11/1998 |
| 67 | Gordon Graceffo | R/R | 6' 4" | 220 | 3/17/2000 |
| 54 | Sonny Gray | R/R | 5' 10" | 190 | 11/7/1989 |
| 56 | Ryan Helsley | R/R | 6' 2" | 235 | 7/18/1994 |
| -- | Tink Hence | R/R | 6'1" | 195 | 8/6/2002 |
| 47 | John King | L/L | 6' 2" | 215 | 9/14/1994 |
| 66 | Adam Kloffenstein | R/R | 6' 5" | 245 | 8/25/2000 |
| 62 | Kyle Leahy | S/R | 6' 5" | 225 | 6/4/1997 |
| 52 | Matthew Liberatore | L/L | 6' 4" | 215 | 11/6/1999 |
| 68 | Ryan Loutos | R/R | 6' 5" | 240 | 1/29/1999 |
| 32 | Steven Matz | R/L | 6' 2" | 205 | 5/29/1991 |
| 36 | Michael McGreevy | L/R | 6' 4" | 220 | 7/8/2000 |
| 39 | Miles Mikolas | R/R | 6' 4" | 230 | 8/23/1988 |
| -- | Roddery Muñoz* | R/R | 6' 2" | 210 | 4/14/2000 |
| 55 | Riley O'Brien | R/R | 6' 4" | 180 | 2/6/1995 |
| 53 | Andre Pallante | R/R | 6' 0" | 215 | 9/18/1998 |
| 61 | Sem Robberse | R/R | 6' 1" | 195 | 10/12/2001 |
| -- | Tekoah Roby | R/R | 6'1" | 210 | 9/18/2001 |
| 59 | JoJo Romero | L/L | 5' 11" | 215 | 9/9/1996 |
| 58 | Chris Roycroft | R/R | 6' 8" | 230 | 6/21/1997 |
| -- | Matt Svanson | R/R | 6'5" | 235 | 1/31/1999 |
| 57 | Zack Thompson | L/L | 6' 2" | 215 | 10/28/1997 |
| Catchers | |||||
| 40 | Willson Contreras | R/R | 6' 1" | 240 | 5/13/1992 |
| 48 | Iván Herrera | R/R | 5' 11" | 220 | 6/1/2000 |
| 43 | Pedro Pagés | R/R | 6' 1" | 245 | 9/17/1998 |
| Infielders | |||||
| 28 | Nolan Arenado | R/R | 6' 2" | 215 | 4/16/1991 |
| 26 | Luken Baker | R/R | 6' 4" | 285 | 3/10/1997 |
| 15 | José Fermín | R/R | 5' 9" | 198 | 3/29/1999 |
| 16 | Nolan Gorman | L/R | 6' 1" | 225 | 5/10/2000 |
| 25 | Thomas Saggese | R/R | 5' 11" | 185 | 4/10/2002 |
| 0 | Masyn Winn | R/R | 5' 11" | 185 | 3/21/2002 |
| Outfielders | |||||
| 41 | Alec Burleson | L/L | 6' 2" | 225 | 11/25/1998 |
| 33 | Brendan Donovan | L/R | 6' 1" | 210 | 1/16/1997 |
| 21 | Lars Nootbaar | L/R | 6' 3" | 205 | 9/8/1997 |
| -- | Victor Scott II* | L/L | 5' 11" | 190 | 2/12/2001 |
| 63 | Michael Siani | L/L | 6' 1" | 195 | 7/16/1999 |
| 18 | Jordan Walker | R/R | 6' 6" | 250 | 5/22/2002 |
Transactions:
11/19: Drew Rom outrighted to Memphis Redbirds
11/19: RHP Matt Svanson, RHP Tink Hence, RHP Tekoah Roby, LF Matt Koperniak added to 40-man
11/7: Michael Gomez signed to minor league contract
11/1: LHP Drew Rom activated from 60-day injured list
11/1: RHP Roddery Muñoz claimed off waivers
10/31: DH Matt Carpenter, RHP Andrew Kittredge, 1B Paul Goldschmidt, RHP Keynan Middleton, RHP Lance Lynn, RHP Kyle Gibson elect free agency
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