The Cardinals have land another minor league contract and re-signed right-hander Victor Santos on a two-year minor league deal. Additionally, they previously announced a non-roster contract with catcher Yohel Pozo earlier this week.
Weiss, the most notable of the three, is a 32-year-old righty with parts of three MLB seasons under his belt. He threw a career-high 14 innings for the Red Sox and Angels in 2022. After being claimed off waivers by the Twins last offseason, he was removed from their 40-man roster without making a major league appearance. He went on to pitch 25 innings for Minnesota’s Triple-A affiliate, posting a 5.40 ERA while striking out an above-average 26.7% of batters faced.
In his limited MLB experience, Weiss has also demonstrated strong strikeout ability, fanning 28% of opposing hitters across 27 1/3 career innings. However, his 12.7% walk rate has contributed to a 4.61 ERA. At the Triple-A level, he has recorded a 5.37 ERA over parts of six seasons.
Santos, 24, has yet to debut in the majors. He was one of two minor league relievers acquired from the Red Sox in the Tyler O’Neill trade, which has since proven to be heavily one-sided. Last season, he posted a 5.61 ERA over 77 innings for Triple-A Memphis. He had been pitching in the Dominican Winter League this offseason but appears to have suffered an injury. The Cardinals announced he is expected to miss all of 2025, likely explaining the two-year length of his contract.
Pozo, 27, played 21 MLB games for the Rangers in 2021, hitting .284 in 77 plate appearances. Over the past two seasons, he has served as non-roster depth with the A’s. Last year in Triple-A, he batted .324/.335/.538 with 15 home runs in an extremely hitter-friendly environment. Pozo has a highly unusual approach at the plate—among nearly 1,100 minor league hitters with at least 300 plate appearances, he had the lowest walk rate (1.9%) and the fourth-lowest strikeout rate (8.3%). No hitter put more balls in play overall.
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