The St. Louis Cardinals came to an agreement with intriguing minor league slugger Bligh Madris on Wednesday, as reported by Chase Ford of MiLBCentral:

The St. Louis Cardinals have signed Bligh Madris to a minor league contract, per @_chaseford. The utility player has 247 extra-base hits along with 403 RBI throughout his minor league career.

Advertisement

A 29-year-old Las Vegas native, Madris has appeared in parts of three major league seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Astros and Detroit Tigers. He has only 206 major league at-bats, but he has 11 doubles and two homers while hitting .204.

He’s been much better in the minor leagues, though he’s never hit for a high average (.253 career). He has 84 minor league homers and 25 triples. He hit .238 last season with eight homers in the Detroit minor league system.

He played in the Mexican Pacific Winter League this offseason, hitting .320 with eight hours and 56 RBIs. He’s a first baseman and an outfielder.

Given that the Cardinals are rebuilding, there should be an opportunity for him to showcase what he can do at some point. As of now, the Cardinals are flush with left-handed hitting outfielders and Alec Burleson is expected to play first base, but should someone get injured or traded, then Madris could step in.

Advertisement

There is still a chance that outfielder Lars Nootbaar could be dealt, and Burleson could be moved at some point as well, though it seems like Chaim Bloom is done making big moves for now.

–The Cardinals are reportedly still looking for another right-handed hitting outfielder this offseason. Despite target Austin Hays signing with the Chicago White Sox a few days ago, we’ve listed some additional options, including a pair of former Cardinals.

–As noted by The Athletic, the Cardinals are scheduled to have a payroll under $100 million for the first time in more than 15 years. The Cardinals are also expected to lose money at the gate and on their television deal. That said, the hope is that the payroll savings will be significant enough to help them re-invest in the team when the time for being competitive comes again.

Advertisement

Remember to join our CARDINALS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other CARDINALS fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that’s free too!