Cardinals infielder/outfielder Taylor Motter, who was designated for assignment over the weekend when Paul DeJong was reinstated from the injured list, has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Memphis, per the transaction log at MLB.com. Because he’s been outrighted previously in his career, Motter has the ability to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency. However, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets that Motter is expected to accept the assignment. He’s being added to the roster at Memphis and will remain in the organization.
Motter, 33, signed a minor league deal with the Cardinals over the winter and rode a solid spring training effort to a spot on the team’s Opening Day roster. He received limited playing time in a bench role with St. Louis, appearing in seven games and batting .222/.300/.333 with a pair of walks and eight strikeouts in 20 trips to the plate before being designated for assignment.
Beyond this brief stint with the Cardinals, the well-traveled Motter has spent time in the Majors with the Rays, Mariners, Twins, Red Sox, Rockies and Reds. He also had a brief stint with the Kiwoom Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization during the 2020 season. Overall, Motter is a career .192/.264/.310 hitter in 466 big league plate appearances but carries a more robust .262/.352/.482 slash in 2062 Triple-A plate appearances.
Motter’s versatility surely holds broad-reaching appeal around the league. He’s logged at least 1200 professional innings at each of shortstop, second base, third base, left field and right field, plus another 513 innings in center and 389 innings at first base. He’s even pitched an inning and a third of mop-up duty in the Majors, leaving catcher as the lone position he’s never played at any professional level.
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