In search throughout the winter of a right-handed bat to supplement their outfield group, the St. Louis Cardinals instead landed on a familiar face who will supplement their infield defense while allowing some young, flexible players to get looks in left field.

Infielder Ramón Urías, first signed by the Cardinals as a free agent from Mexico in 2018, agreed to a major league contract with the team on Friday after being on campus and passing a physical.

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A corresponding move to add Urías to the 40-player roster is yet to be announced.

“I’m happy to be back,” Urías said Saturday morning as he unpacked his equipment bag at his locker. “Lots of young and exciting players.”

Urías, 31, has compiled an impressive career as a utility infielder, primarily with the Baltimore Orioles, since departing the St. Louis system on waivers just ahead of spring training in 2020. He won the American League Gold Glove at third base in 2022 and posted an OPS north of .700 in each of his five full seasons in Baltimore.

He was traded by the Orioles to the Houston Astros at last year’s trade deadline, and finished with the worst offensive season of his career, hitting 11 home runs and recording a .675 OPS.

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Primarily a third baseman, Urías hasn’t played the outfield since 20 innings in left in rookie ball for the Texas Rangers in 2011. His presence at third creates a great deal more lineup flexibility that could allow Nolan Gorman to take more time at designated hitter, providing a significant defensive boost for the Cardinals. He also provides a righty platoon option for Gorman against the toughest lefty starters, though Gorman’s career handedness splits are nearly dead-on neutral.

It also means, however, that there will be a crunch on infield innings for both José Fermin and Thomas Saggese. Fermin especially is placed in a difficult spot, as he has no minor league options remaining and would have to be passed through waivers if the Cardinals chose to remove him from the active roster.

To solve that crunch, even before Urías arrived, the Cardinals have had both Fermin and Saggese working in left field alongside minor league free agent addition Nelson Velazquez. Indeed, Fermin was in the lineup as the starting left fielder for the team’s Grapefruit League opener on Saturday, though he was in a unit of backup outfielders with Nathan Church and Josh Baez.

While Church, a strong defender who plays all three outfield spots, profiles as an ideal fourth outfielder, the starting spot in left field has been clearly up for grabs as Lars Nootbaar recovers from offseason heel surgery that has his availability for opening day in serious doubt. Without Nootbaar, the Cardinals were active in seeking outside supplements, but weren’t able to offer the kind of consistent playing time guaranteed throughout the season which would attract even those free agents still on the market.

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In adding Urías, the Cardinals can circumvent those concerns and rely on internal options, providing the group of Fermin, Saggese and Velazquez proves adequate enough to hold down a left field spot among the three of them.

Cardinals manager Oli Marmol has been atypically evasive throughout the spring when asked about his plans for left field, largely because of the rolling expectation that an outside addition would significantly change the equation. That addition, as it turns out, is an infielder, who does add a right-handed bat while shifting the playing time equilibrium.

Urías, also, represents an asset in much the same way pitchers Dustin May and Ryne Stanek do on their own respective one-year deals. Should he perform well enough to draw the attention of contenders come the trade deadline, the Cardinals will likely be able to spin him off in a manner that amounts to a more or less free addition of a prospect from outside the organization.