The Cardinals have sent right-hander outright to Triple-A Memphis, per his at MLB.com, though Rodrguez has elected free agency. It wasnt previously known that the Cards had removed him from the roster, so this opens a spot on their 40-man, which is now at 39. Rodrguez, 34 in March, was selected from the Yankees in the 2022 Rule Josh Okogie Jersey 5 draft. This was fairly unusual as most Rule 5 picks tend to be players in their early 20s who have yet to crack the big leagues. But Rodrguez actually made his major league debut back in 2014, to sing two innings for the Royals. He spent much of the intervening time away from affiliated ball, pitching for teams in Venezuela and Mexico. The Yanks signed him to a minor league deal in August of 2022, surely intrigued by his 2.01 earned run average and 43.2% strikeout rate in Mexico that year, but the Cardinals plucked him away a few months later in the Rule 5. The righty opened the season on the injured list due to right shoulder sorene s and underwent surgery in May. He stayed on the IL for the full season and collected a year of service time but never pitched in a regular season game for the Cards. Players selected in the Rule 5 draft cannot be optioned to the minors and have to stay on a clubs active roster or injured list for the full season. They need at least 90 days on the active roster in order to shed those Rule 5 restrictions, so Rodrguez would have carried his Rule 5 status into next season. It seems the Cards werent willing to keep him on the roster for now and have cut him loose. Tomorrow is the deadline to add players to 40-man rosters for the next Rule 5, so the Cards likely have some of their own prospects in mind that they want to use the roster spot on. When Rule 5 picks are cut from the roster, they have to be offered back to their original club. Per , the Yanks declined, which allowed Rodrguez to be outrighted. But since he has a previous career outright, he has the right to elect free agency, which he has done. Its po sible he returns to the Cards in some non-roster capacity as Goold they are interested in bringing him back. Jarred Vanderbilt Jersey