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St. Louis Cardinals Designate Brayan Peña for Assignment

By Patrick Karraker

Mar 19, 2016; Fort Myers, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Brayan Pena (33) walks off the field after the game has been cancelled against the Boston Red Sox at JetBlue Park. The Red Sox won 3-1 as the game was cancelled after five innings due to inclement weather. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 19, 2016; Fort Myers, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Brayan Pena (33) walks off the field after the game has been cancelled against the Boston Red Sox at JetBlue Park. The Red Sox won 3-1 as the game was cancelled after five innings due to inclement weather. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports /
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As they officially added lefthanded pitcher Brett Cecil to the 40-man roster on Monday, the St. Louis Cardinals DFA’d catcher Brayan Peña.

Having filled their 40-man roster to the maximum last Friday as they protected four players from the Rule 5 Draft, the St. Louis Cardinals were quickly forced to address a roster logjam this weekend as they agreed to terms with lefty reliever Brett Cecil on a four-year, $30.5 million-dollar contract. Unfortunately, they had to confront that issue by admitting their mistake on one of their most prominent moves last offseason.

Catcher Brayan Peña was designated for assignment on Monday, ending a year that was stressful for both parties. Peña dealt with a nagging knee injury throughout 2016 and became one of the most scrutinized backup catchers in recent memory. The Cardinals were forced to deal with criticism concerning their decision to give Peña–who, in fairness, had been considered one of the best backup catchers in baseball prior to 2016–a two-year, $5 million-dollar deal, only to see him spend most of the season on the DL.

Considering the way that Peña was utilized in September–coming exclusively off the bench, primarily as a pinch hitter but once as a first baseman–it’s questionable whether he’ll ever be in the physical condition to catch again. Even after months of rehab on a knee that he injured while slipping down the stairs in spring training, he still dealt with pain while squatting down and trying to catch. Though he got work behind the plate in rehab games in late August and early September, Peña didn’t consider himself ready to catch in a major-league game during the season’s final month.

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Unless the Cardinals make a move, it seems quite apparent that rookie Carson Kelly will open the 2017 season as Yadier Molina‘s backup. He didn’t exactly impress at the plate through 14 September plate appearances, posting a .154/.214/.231 slash line, but he was solid behind the dish. Mike Matheny often cites defense as the primary skill that the club considers in picking a backup catcher, so it’s quite obvious why Kelly had the advantage over Molina. Kelly hit .286/.387/.455 with three homers for the Glendale Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League, so he’s on the right track to begin the 2017 season with momentum at the plate.

As the Cardinals search for catching depth, Peña could still be an option if he’s willing to accept a minor-league deal with an invite to spring training. Obviously he’ll need to be able to actually squat behind the plate for that to happen, but if the Cardinals think they can squeeze any more value out of the player that they invested in, they might try to bring him back.

Next: Cardinals Lose Tim Cooney on Waivers to Indians

Alberto Rosario, who acted as Molina’s backup for much of the time that Peña was on the DL last season, has already been re-signed to a minor-league deal and should be a part of big-league spring training. Tony Cruz, Molina’s longtime backup who was designated for assignment by the Kansas City Royals on Friday, could also be of interest as a minor-league free agent.

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