Cardinals Acquire Young Infielder To Bolster Position Player Depth

St. Louis is not waiting around to add depth to their organization

Scott Neville | Oct 25, 2023

Cardinals Acquire Young Infielder To Bolster Position Player Depth /

In this story:

The St. Louis Cardinals have had to watch a slew of their former players shine on the postseason stage, most of which have advanced to the World Series.

While this time of year requires a lot of patience for a last-place club, they were able to make one addition to their 40-man roster.

The Cardinals have claimed infielder Buddy Kennedy off of waivers, the team announced.

The 25-year-old was acquired from the Oakland Athletics after less than a full month in the organization. Kennedy previously was with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was drafted in the fifth round of the 2017 Major League Baseball Draft and remained with the club until September, when he was waived despite solid production.

Kennedy hit .307 with 37 extra-base hits including five home runs, 50 RBIs and a .887 OPS in 93 games at the Triple-A level this season.

He's spent the majority of his career at third base (158 minor league games) but this season he's predominately played second base. He also has limited experience at first base and left field.

Kennedy has had a taste of big-league action as well. He's hit .207 with five extra-base hits including a home run, 13 RBIs and a .592 OPS in 40 games across the previous two seasons -- all with the Diamondbacks.

The Cardinals have a fair amount of middle infield depth but it's always wise to keep building upon it. Kennedy has much more upside than a player such as Taylor Motter, who appeared in 29 games this season but has since elected free agency.

It'll be interesting to see if Kennedy makes it to spring training or is removed when bigger additions to the roster are made.

More MLB: Ex-Cardinals Skipper Reportedly Top Candidate To Manage NL Foe

Published Oct 25, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the St. Louis Cardinals for FanNation's "Inside The Cardinals" on Sports Illustrated. Before starting "Inside The Cardinals", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." After a few months as the top Major League Baseball site in the program, Neville sought expansion and pitched "Inside The Cardinals," one of the newest additions to FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group. The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Cardinals" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu