Cardinals Face Rule 5 Draft Decisions

Magneuris Sierra (Photo by Paul Gierhart)

ST. LOUIS—At the end of a regular season that saw the Cardinals fail to reach the postseason for the first time in six years, general manager John Mozeliak said there was a subtext to the season that hinted at the feature.

Nestled beneath the standings was the team’s successful restocking of the system.

They’re about the reveal by how much.

The Cardinals have several decisions to make when it comes to shielding players from the Rule 5 draft in December, and it begins with a talented group of infield prospects.

Low Class A Peoria second baseman Eliezer Alvarez and Rookie-level Johnson City shortstop Allen Cordoba become Rule 5 eligible. So too are familiar shortstop prospects Edmundo Sosa (primarily Peoria) and Juan Herrera (primarily Double-A Springfield).

In addition to that group, Peoria center fielder Magneuris Sierra, the Cardinals’ minor league player of the year in 2014 at age 19, also is Rule 5 eligible.

The Cardinals don’t have room to protect all their low-level prospects. So they must reveal how they view them internally, both in terms of upside and proximity to the majors.

A year ago, the Cardinals opted to leave off righthander Luis Perdomo and then watched as the Padres held him all season long. St. Louis did not believe that he could make the leap from low Class A to the majors and stick. The Padres had patience to pull it off.

Like Perdomo, Alvarez had a strong season at Peoria. The 22-year-old hit .323/.404/.476 with 36 doubles and 36 steals.

Cordoba, still 20, is perhaps the most compelling of the group. He hit .362/.427/.495 in the Appalachian League one year after winning MVP honors in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League. Though he would seemingly have one more year of Rule 5 exemption based on his 2013 signing date, he is eligible because he’s on his second contract with the team.

REDBIRD CHIRPS

n The Cardinals promoted two minor league coaches to big league manager Mike Matheny’s staff. Triple-A Memphis manager Mike Shildt will serve as quality-control coach, a new uniformed position, and high Class A Palm Beach manager Oliver Marmol will be first-base coach.

n Four Cardinals players were selected for the Arizona Fall League’s Fall Stars Game: outfielder Harrison Bader, third baseman Paul DeJong, catcher Carson Kelly and reliever Rowan Wick.