By Chris Brown / STL Baseball Today | @cbrown_STLBBT | Dec. 2, 2015, 10:00 am CT, updated 12/3
Two days after signing veteran backstop Brayan Pena to serve as Yadier Molina’s backup, the Cardinals have shipped catcher Tony Cruz to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for minor league infielder Jose Martinez.
After signing Pena to a two-year deal on Monday, GM John Mozeliak told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the team would look to trade Cruz, who’s served as Molina’s understudy since 2011.
On Wednesday, Mozeliak pulled the trigger, acquiring Martinez, a 19-year-old who’s yet to play above the Rookie level, in exchange for the light-hitting Cruz, both teams announced.
Martinez spent the majority of the 2015 season at the Burlington (the Royals’ Rookie level affiliate), hitting .243 with four doubles, one home run, and 24 RBIs in 57 games while appearing primarily at shortstop.
A 26th-round pick by the Cardinals back in 2007, Cruz hit .220 with five home runs and 58 RBIs in just over 630 plate appearances with St. Louis. The 29-year-old started just 129 games behind the plate in parts of five seasons wearing the birds on the bat, as playing time was scarce when Molina was healthy.
Cruz will go from backing one Glove Gold catcher who hardly rests to another, as he’s expected to serve as the primary backup to 2015 World Series MVP Salvador Perez for Kansas City.
Just hours after trading Cruz, a candidate to be non-tendered, the Cardinals watched another non-tender candidate, outfielder Peter Bourjos, get claimed off waivers by the Phillies. The team then elected to tender contracts to four players — Matt Adams, Brandon Moss, Seth Maness, and Trevor Rosenthal — but not Steve Cishek or Cody Stanley, who both became free agents.
More from STL Baseball Today:
Cardinals keep Moss, non-tender Cishek and Stanley
Phillies claim Peter Bourjos off waivers from Cardinals
Cards sign veteran catcher Pena to back up Molina
Cards reportedly finish second in bidding for Price, who agrees to historic deal with Boston
