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St. Louis Cardinals Remove Anthony García from 40-Man Roster

By Patrick Karraker

Mar 13, 2016; Melbourne, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Anthony Garcia (81) watches the game from the dug out in the fifth inning against the Washington Nationals at Space Coast Stadium. The Washington Nationals and the St. Louis Cardinals tied 4-4. Mandatory Credit: Logan Bowles-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 13, 2016; Melbourne, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Anthony Garcia (81) watches the game from the dug out in the fifth inning against the Washington Nationals at Space Coast Stadium. The Washington Nationals and the St. Louis Cardinals tied 4-4. Mandatory Credit: Logan Bowles-USA TODAY Sports /
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Anthony García is no longer a member of the Cardinals’ 40-man roster.

Via the St. Louis Cardinals’ transactions page, minor-league outfielder Anthony García has been outrighted off the 40-man roster. It’s somewhat odd that the Cardinals decided to make the move now, seeing as they didn’t add a player to the 40-man in a corresponding move, but evidently they wanted flexibility.

The decision to outright García this early in the season isn’t necessarily a great look for the Cardinals, who left infielder Allen Cordoba (who went on to be selected by the San Diego Padres) unprotected in the Rule 5 Draft and waived outfielder Jeremy Hazelbaker and Tim Cooney so that they could keep García on the 40-man roster.

While it’s worth noting that San Diego’s selection of Garcia from the rookie ranks of the Cardinals’ system was a colossal gamble, the 21-year-old is hitting .292/.346/.417 through 26 major-league plate appearances for the Padres this year. Hazelbaker reached base in a franchise-record eight straight plate appearances to start the season for the D-Backs this year, and he’s currently sitting on a .350/.409/.500 slash line through 22 plate appearances this season. Cooney is still working his way back from a shoulder injury, but could provide rotation depth for the Cleveland Indians this year.

The 25-year-old, a former catcher, was originally added to the Cardinals’ 40-man roster after a 2015 season in which he posted a combined .283/.391/.477 slash line with 13 homers in 410 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A. But he’s struggled ever since, failing to impress during spring training and posting a .238/.308/.388 slash line during a 2016 season that saw him demoted to Double-A, then brought back to Memphis later in the season.

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García, who remains on the roster at Triple-A Memphis after being outrighted, has posted a .182/.250/.303 slash line with one homer in his first 12 games of 2017. He’s struggled to get consistent playing time as Tommy Pham, Harrison Bader, and Chad Huffman have gotten starts in the outfield, and his status doesn’t figure to improve with José Adolis García likely ticketed for Triple-A this summer.

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