Alfonso

Rivas III

All players were set to be minor league free agents at the end of the season, so they would most likely have moved on anyway. Now they will all hope to find another opportunity somewhere else.

Rivas went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment earlier this week. The 27-year-old slugger has the option to either elect free agency or stick around as extra organizational depth at Triple-A Memphis.

Rivas, who was claimed off waivers from the Angels in January, is now off the 40-man roster. He’d spent the entire season with Triple-A Memphis, hitting .246/.364/.323 with no homers in 156 plate appearances.

No real surprises here as there’s simply no room for Baker, Rivas or Young at the highest level at the moment in St. Louis. The trio will head to Triple-A Memphis to continue serving as extra organizational depth. The latest batch of cuts pretty much ensures that reliever Andre Pallante and reserve outfielder Michael Siani will make the Opening Day roster.

It’s been a busy few months for Rivas who was traded to the Pirates in August and then put on waivers after the season. He was then claimed by Cleveland in November and designated for assignment in December, when he was claimed by the Angels, who then designated him for assignment last week. The Cardinals will now be the latest team to take a gamble on the 27-year-old, who is a plus defensive first baseman and an on-base percentage machine but has just a .243/.324/.349 slash line in 459 plate appearances. OF Moisés Gómez was designated for assignment to make room for Rivas.

This is the third DFA for Rivas this winter, as he’d already gone from the Pirates to the Guardians to the Angels. A strong defensive first baseman, he’s hit .243/.324/.349 in 459 plate appearances since debuting with the Cubs in 2021.

Rivas was designated for assignment by the Guardians, one week ago, following the signing of Austin Hedges. The 27-year-old has been an on-base machine during his time in the minors. He boasts a .404 OBP across 1403 minor league plate appearances, although he’s yet to break out on the big stage.

Rivas was claimed off of waivers from the Pirates in early November, but he was the odd-man out on Friday when the Guardians needed to free up a 40-man roster spot for Austin Hedges. There’s a chance that Rivas could pique another club’s interest on waivers again, but the most likely scenario has him continuing to function as depth for the Guardians.

Rivas was acquired by the Pirates at the trade deadline as part of the Rich Hill and Ji Man Choi deal, but didn’t exactly tear the cover off the ball in 40 games following the deal, posting a .741 OPS with three homers and 14 RBI. The 27-year-old slugger should get an opportunity to compete for at-bats during spring training as a possible bench option in Cleveland.

It appears to be just a routine day off for Hayes, who has caught fire in September, hitting .299/.324/.515 with four home runs, 17 runs scored, 10 RBI, and a steal in 23 games this month. Jared Triolo will slide to third base with Alfonso Rivas playing first base. There are other shake-ups in the Pirates lineup with Miguel Andujar starting in right field, and Nick Gonzales at shortstop while Henry Davis and Liover Peguero get a day off.