Cards unlucky in Competitive Balance Lottery
Reyes promoted to Double-A; club loses Kelly to Blue Jays on waivers
CHICAGO -- The Cardinals were shut out of Wednesday's Competitive Balance Lottery and therefore not able to snare an extra selection in the 2016 Draft.
The Cardinals were among 15 eligible teams for the lottery, which awards 12 Draft picks (six after the first round, six following the second round) to clubs that rank in baseball's bottom-third in revenue or market size. Teams that received funds through the revenue sharing plan are also eligible, though only for the six picks that come after the second round.
Odds of winning an extra pick are based on a team's winning percentage from the previous season. That didn't hurt the Cardinals a year earlier, when they landed a Competitive Balance pick that became the 39th overall selection in this most recent Draft. The Cardinals used that selection to take high school right-hander Jake Woodford and were awarded the extra $1.5854 million of pool money that was attached to that slot.
Division foes Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Milwaukee did come out winners in Wednesday's lottery. The Cardinals, Royals and Mariners were the only eligible teams to come up empty.
Worth noting
• Right-hander Alex Reyes, ranked by MLB Pipleline as the Cardinals' second-best pitching prospect, has been promoted to Double-A Springfield (Mo.). Reyes, 20, posted a 2.26 ERA and struck out 96 over 63 2/3 innings in 13 starts with Class A Advanced Palm Beach (Fla.). He recently returned after a brief shutdown due to shoulder soreness.
• Infielder Ty Kelly, whom the Cardinals designated for assignment earlier this week, was taken off waivers by the Blue Jays and added to Toronto's 40-man roster. The Cardinals signed Kelly over the winter while the team was looking to improve its infield depth. He never appeared with the big league club and hit .203/.317/.286 in 79 Triple-A games.
• Reliever Mitch Harris (right groin strain) began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis on Tuesday and struck out two in a scoreless inning of relief.
• Top pitching prospect Marco Gonzales is slated to make a start for Springfield on Wednesday as he continues to work his way back from a shoulder impingement injury. This will be Gonzales' fourth start since returning to the mound. He threw 52 pitches over three shutout innings for Springfield on July 17.