John Mozeliak has made a Winter Meetings move: signing a lefty partner for Marc Rzepczynski.

No, it’s not Sean Burnett. Instead, the price was right for Randy Choate.

From Jennifer Langosch at cardinals.com:

Choate, 37, made 80 appearances in 2012, which he split between the Marlins and Dodgers. Choate posted a 3.03 ERA in 38 2/3 innings and was used primarily as a lefty specialist. He held left-handed batters to a .158 batting average. Right-handed hitters batted .325 against him.

The Cardinals will use Choate in that same specialist role, thereby freeing up Rzepczynski to be a more flexible middle-innings option. Over his 12-year career, Choate has limited left-handed hitters to a .201 batting average.

With an opening on their 40-man roster, the Cardinals will not have to make a roster move once the signing is made official, unless the club also wants to select a player in Thursday’s Rule 5 Draft. An announcement would also effectively end St. Louis’ hunt for bullpen help, which was the organization’s top offseason priority.

 

We’ll have more on the Choate signing, as well as other updates from Nashville in the morning.

John Mozeliak has made a Winter Meetings move: signing a lefty partner for Marc Rzepczynski.

No, it’s not Sean Burnett. Instead, the price was right for Randy Choate.

From Jennifer Langosch at cardinals.com:

Choate, 37, made 80 appearances in 2012, which he split between the Marlins and Dodgers. Choate posted a 3.03 ERA in 38 2/3 innings and was used primarily as a lefty specialist. He held left-handed batters to a .158 batting average. Right-handed hitters batted .325 against him.

The Cardinals will use Choate in that same specialist role, thereby freeing up Rzepczynski to be a more flexible middle-innings option. Over his 12-year career, Choate has limited left-handed hitters to a .201 batting average.

With an opening on their 40-man roster, the Cardinals will not have to make a roster move once the signing is made official, unless the club also wants to select a player in Thursday’s Rule 5 Draft. An announcement would also effectively end St. Louis’ hunt for bullpen help, which was the organization’s top offseason priority.

 

We’ll have more on the Choate signing, as well as other updates from Nashville in the morning.