Blue Jays Claim Ex-Cardinals Prospect Off Waivers Following Trade Deadline

St. Louis is moving on from the young player

Sep 16, 2023; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; A general view as Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Ranger Suarez (55) pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals during the third inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports / Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

The St. Louis Cardinals might have an elderly pitching staff but when it comes to position player depth, the club is young and has a bright future ahead of it.

Gold Glove defenders Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado are the only starting Cardinals position players who are above the age of 30 years old.

With plenty of minor league depth in nearly every position, the Cardinals had no reason to keep a young prospect who's found a new home.

"Catcher Nick Raposo claimed off waivers from the Cardinals and optioned to Triple-A (Buffalo)," the Toronto Blue Jays announced Thursday.

Raposo batted .193 with 16 extra-base hits including seven home runs, 28 RBIs and a .600 OPS in 58 games played for Triple-A Memphis this season.

The 26-year-old was promoted from Doube-A Springfield to Triple-A Memphis at the beginning of last season but his plate performance took a slight hit following the promotion.

The undrafted catcher has batted .240 with 60 extra-base hits including 19 home runs, 87 RBIs and a .711 OPS since making his minor league debut in 2021 with Double-A Springfield.

The Cardinals already have a bit of a logjam of catchers with Wilson Contreras as the franchise catcher along with Iván Herrera and Pedro Pagés -- who are both major-league-ready -- to back him up.

It's great that Raposo will get another shot with a new team, as it looks like he might still have more to prove. Much like another player who was recently designated for assignment, there wasn't any room for him in the organization and it was time for the Cardinals to go a separate way.

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