Cardinals Outright Tink Hence

The Cardinals announced that right-hander Tink Hence has cleared waivers and been sent outright to their Florida Complex League affiliate. He was designated for assignment last week when the club called up left-hander Quinn Mathews.

Hence is celebrating his 24th birthday today. He was once one of the most notable prospects in the league. The 63rd overall pick of the 2020 draft, he initially dominated at the lower levels and vaulted himself onto top 100 prospect lists. He was added to the Cards’ 40-man roster in November of 2024 to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. At that time, he had just wrapped up a season in which he posted a 2.71 earned run average over 20 Double-A starts.

Unfortunately, repeated injuries have lowered his stock significantly. His aforementioned 2024 season featured good numbers but he hardly pitched in the second half due to shoulder and chest tightness. Last year, he only logged 21 1/3 innings due to a rib cage strain and a shoulder injury.

Perhaps in an attempt to keep him healthy, the Cards have mostly used him out of the Triple-A bullpen this year, with poor results. He has thrown 20 1/3 innings with a 6.64 ERA. His 20.2% strikeout rate is subpar and he has walked a gruesome 18.2% of batters faced. He is only averaging 91.6 miles per hour with his four-seamer, way down from a few years ago when he was sitting in the 95-96 range.

Clearly, the industry doesn’t view him the same way it did a few years ago. Not only is he no longer a top prospect but none of the 30 clubs even consider him worth a 40-man roster spot at present. With the Cards sending him to the Complex, perhaps they are going to spend some time focusing on his health and mechanics, as opposed to game action. The talent is clearly in there but injuries have thrown him off course, making him a long-term project now.