The Cardinals are gonna try to use some of that voodoo magic on an old friend.
They’ve signed former Cubs lefty reliever Kyle Ryan to a minor league deal:
We have signed LHP Kyle Ryan to a minor league contract with a non-roster invite to Spring Training.
Ryan, 30, has a career 4.05 E.R.A. across seven Major League seasons with Detroit and Chicago. pic.twitter.com/am3Zi14qpy
— Cardinals Player Development (@CardsPlayerDev) November 19, 2021
As you’ll recall, the Cubs and Ryan worked throughout the 2018 season at Triple-A Iowa to get him on track, and then he was fantastic for the big league team in 2019 (3.54 ERA, 3.85 FIP over 61.0 IP). The pandemic season saw him never get right after a delayed start, though, with his velocity way down, and pitch movement just not the same. He was getting results again in 2021 at Triple-A, but again the stuff didn’t quite look right in the big leagues, and the velocity never fully recovered.
Just 30, it’s not at all like Ryan can’t turn it back around. Who knows exactly what limited him in 2020-21, and when you’ve had big league success before, it can come back. Ryan is a good no-risk shot for the Cardinals.
In response, the Cubs are definitely going to sign some outgoing Cardinals player and reclaim him into a useful big leaguer.
… or did the Cubs already do that with Patrick Wisdom, and Kyle Ryan’s upcoming Reliever of the Year season is the Cardinals‘ response?!?!?