The Cardinals made several moves on Thursday in hopes of adding depth and experience to their lineup, highlighted by the signing of veteran free agent Wade LeBlanc.
“Experienced guy, strike thrower.” said Cardinals manager Mike Shildt.
St. Louis put LeBlanc to work right away, calling on him in the seventh inning of its 4-0 loss on Thursday. He tossed one-third of an inning and allowed one hit before he got the final out by inducing a popout.
The left-hander was most recently on the mound for Triple-A Round Rock, the Texas Rangers' affiliate. During his time with the Express, LeBlanc went 2-0 with a 2.50 ERA through 18 innings pitched. LeBlanc notched eight strikeouts in seven scoreless innings in his most recent start on Friday.
LeBlanc started 2021 in the Majors, appearing in six games for the Orioles, but he has not seen the big league mound since April 24. Through his six appearances in Baltimore, LeBlanc posted a 9.45 ERA through 6 2/3 innings pitched.
Prior to LeBlanc’s signing, the Cardinals optioned right-hander Seth Elledge to Triple-A Memphis and transferred infielder Max Moroff to the 60-day IL to make room on the 40-man roster. Moroff was an expected move for the Cardinals to make eventually, after the second baseman underwent season-ending surgery on June 6 to deal with his left shoulder subluxation. Moroff is hopeful that he will be back in the lineup come Spring Training 2022.
LeBlanc is 46-48 in his career with a 4.59 ERA. In his 13-year career LeBlanc has suited up for the Dodgers, Padres, Marlins, Astros, Angels, Yankees, Mariners, Pirates and the Orioles for a total of 246 career games (121 starts).