Miami Marlins' Roddery Muñoz Heads to St. Louis Cardinals Via Waiver Wire

The St. Louis Cardinals have added a young starting pitcher to their 40-man roster, poaching Roddery Muñoz from the Miami Marlins as the offseason gets underway.

Jun 29, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Miami Marlins pitcher Roddery Muñoz (71) throws a pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies during the first inning at Citizens Bank Park. / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals have claimed right-handed pitcher Roddery Muñoz off of waivers from the Miami Marlins, the team announced Friday afternoon.

The 24-year-old made his big league debut in 2024 but got optioned to Triple-A four times throughout the regular season. Despite starting 17 games, Muñoz clearly was not part of the Marlins' rotation plans moving forward.

Muñoz has immediately been added to the Cardinals' 40-man roster.

We have claimed RHP Roddery Muñoz off of waivers from the Miami Marlins. He will be added to the 40-player roster.#ForTheLou pic.twitter.com/OheMace9JK

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) November 1, 2024

While this is far from the first time that Muñoz has had to pack his bags over the past 16 months, he started his career out with some solid stability.

Muñoz signed with the Atlanta Braves back in 2018, and he slowly worked his way through their farm system before finally reaching Triple-A in 2023. The Braves designated him for assignment last July, though, and he rounded out the season with the Washington Nationals' Triple-A affiliate in Rochester.

Last December, Muñoz joined the Pittsburgh Pirates via the waiver wire, only to get traded to the Marlins three weeks later.

Muñoz went 2-7 with a 6.53 ERA, 1.585 WHIP, 7.6 strikeouts per nine innings and a -0.9 WAR across 82.2 innings in Miami this season. In his minor league career, Muñoz boasts an 18-23 record, 5.01 ERA, 1.432 WHIP and 9.6 strikeouts per nine innings.

The Cardinals declined their club options on veteran starting pitchers Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson this week, as well as reliever Keynan Middleton. Reliever Andrew Kittredge also hit free agency on Friday.

That left a handful of spots open on the Cardinals' pitching staff for the time being, plus Muñoz brings youth to an aging roster. It remains to be seen if he will seriously compete for an Opening Day rotation spot, or if he will even hang around through Spring Training, but St. Louis decided to take a flier on Muñoz regardless.

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