Cardinals Sign 25-Year-Old Former Orioles Righty

According to a Monday social media post from Tread Athletics, a highly regarded training facility for many major and minor league players, the Cardinals signed 25-year-old right-hander Dominic Freeberger to a minor-league deal.

Freeberger recently pitched at Tread's pro day workout in front of scouts from major league teams, and the Cardinals clearly had a presence there. St. Louis also signed former independent ball hurler Robbie Knowles after seeing him pitch at his pro day.

According to Tread, Freeberger was sitting in the mid-90s with his fastball, a more impressive feat on an indoor mound than it would be on a diamond, and featured fairly elite induced vertical break (or "ride") on that heater.

Freeberger also threw a series of breaking balls between 82-87 mph, some of which appeared to have more cut action, while others had the two-plane break of a slurve or sweeper.

Freeberger was a two-way player as a third baseman and left fielder in college at UNC Asheville and UConn before pitching full time in the pro ranks. He signed with the Baltimore Orioles in 2024 and wound up making 40 appearances across two seasons, pitching to a 6.42 ERA, but striking out 56 batters in 47 2/3 innings.

Freeberger also made eight appearances for the independent Lincoln Saltdogs last summer after the Orioles released him.

The Cardinals would need to see a lot of growth from Freeberger, likely over multiple seasons, to eventually promote him to the majors. But he should get some innings down on the farm this season and may ultimately prove to be a wise pickup.