Cardinals Sign Pair Of Intriguing 26-Year-Olds To Minor League Contracts

The St. Louis Cardinals are competing for the top spot in the National League Central but remain committed to rebuilding their broken player development system.

Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak revealed last fall that the franchise was long overdue for an organizational reset, with fixing the player development system at the top of the list of priorities.

Fortunately, Mozeliak's successor, Chaim Bloom, is tasked with buffing the Cardinals' farm system before taking over as head honcho after this season ends. His two latest moves could be solid investments for the franchise's future.

"We have signed catcher Andy Yerzy & right-handed pitcher Ricardo Velez to minor league contracts," the organization announced Wednesday afternoon. "Yerzy, 26, has been assigned to Memphis (AAA).
Velez, 26, has been assigned to Peoria (A+). C Wade Stauss has been transferred from Memphis to Springfield (AA) and placed on the Development List."

Yerzy and Velez are 26-year-old international talents -- the former from Canada and the latter from Puerto Rico -- who have spent several years in the minor leagues but haven't yet earned their Major League Baseball debut.

The Canadian native was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second round of the 2016 draft, partially due to Yerzy's "extremely powerful" left-handed bat, according to the NL West rival's former scouting director Deric Ladnier, who is now working with the Houston Astros.

Although Yerzy entered the Diamondbacks organization with high expectations, his minor league stats could be better -- batting .232 with 145 extra-base hits including 67 home runs, 261 RBIs and a .723 OPS throughout his nine-year career, during which he played in the Diamondbacks, Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers farm systems.

Velez has logged a respectable 14-7 record with a 3.64 ERA, 139-to-44 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .227 batting average against and a 1.27 WHIP in 108 2/3 innings pitched throughout his four-year career in the Minnesota Twins farm system.

Considering that the Cardinals already have a plethora of prospect catchers, it's interesting they signed Yerzy. Perhaps Bloom sees untapped potential in him.

As for Velez, his minor league stats might be a small sample size but they show he could be an impact reliever someday. The Puerto Rico native must climb his way through the Cardinals' farm system before there are talks of him joining St. Louis' bullpen.