{"id":546922,"date":"2026-01-31T02:02:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T02:02:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/546922\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T02:02:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T02:02:13","slug":"cardinals-sign-former-two-way-player-after-standout-workout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/546922\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardinals sign former two-way player after standout workout"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chaim Bloom has been active on the margins this offseason<\/a>, adding a variety of arms on waivers and minor league deals who could have an impact on the club in the future. While the majority of these moves won’t work out, taking as many shots at the dartboard ups the odds that one pans out.<\/p>\n

The St. Louis Cardinals<\/a> announced another one of these signings on Friday, this time adding a former college two-way player who is looking to make his mark as a pitcher on a minor league contract.<\/p>\n

RHP Dominic Freeberger, 25, most recently pitched for the Lincoln Saltdogs in the American Association, and played for both the University of Connecticut and the University of North Carolina at Asheville as a two-way player, winning the 2023 Big East Player of the Year<\/a>. Freeberger spent the last two seasons in the Baltimore Orioles organization prior to his six appearances with the Saltdogs.<\/p>\n

We have signed RHP Dominic Freeberger to a minor league contract for the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

Freeberger, 25, was a two-way player in college and spent the last two seasons in Baltimore’s system. <\/p>\n

The former 2023 Big East Conference Player of the Year most recently pitched in six games\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/L0uhlTJM53<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Cardinals Player Development (@CardsPlayerDev) January 30, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Freeberger had a standout workout at Tread Athletics recently, and that led to the Cardinals bringing him in.<\/p>\n

Cardinals sign Dominic Freeberger, a former two-way player who had a great workout at Tread Athletics<\/p>\n

Tread Athletics <\/a>helps showcase players who work with them in hopes of them landing jobs with big league clubs. Freeberger had one of the best fastballs of the second day of their Pro Day Live AB Sessions, sporting a mid-90s fastball with 20″+ of vertical break. <\/p>\n

Congrats to Dominic Freeberger on signing with the St. Louis Cardinals! \u270d\ufe0f@DomFreeberger12<\/a> showed one of the best fastballs of Day 2, sitting mid-90’s (T95.8) with 20″+ VB.<\/p>\n

Coach: @TurnerGivens<\/a>#TreadFam<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/2FDi0IQkrQ<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Tread Athletics (@TreadHQ) January 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

The Cardinals’ new player development, player performance, and scouting departments have partnered together to target new types of pitchers for their system, with bigger fastballs with elite traits being an apple of their eye. While Freeberger doesn’t have an elite fastball, it does have traits that the Cardinals are very interested in. Larry Day, the Cardinals’ farm director, talked about the shift in traits they target on the Dealin’ the Cards podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We’ll keep a close eye on Freeberger this year in the Cardinals’ system, as he’ll have every opportunity to try and get into the mix of arms that St. Louis builds with in the future. There is a lot of competition at the minor league levels right now, and that’s a good thing for the Cardinals.<\/p>\n