St. Louis Cardinals' reliever Kyle McClellan becomes free agent – MLB News
The affiliation was not permanent. At least not officially.
St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday, November 13, granted the right-hander pitcher Kyle McClellan unconditional release, officially parting ways with the reliever in a move that ended all the uncertainty surrounding the subject.
The release comes a week before the Cardinals are supposed to set their 40-man roster ahead of the Rule 5 Draft. Now that he is eligible for arbitration, the Cardinals will obviously look for another pitcher to fill his spot.
Part of the reason why the Cardinals parted ways was the fitness issues that McClellan faced. He could only make 16 appearances this past season. Also, as it was observed, effectiveness was missing in his pitching which previously remained a trait of this reliever.
"Any time you come off an injury, you know it's never a good situation and especially when you're at the point where I am with being arbitration eligible," said McClellan. "You understand that. And then you also look at the young arms they have coming up and the exciting potential they have, and you see there might not be a place for you."
To be consigned to the disabled list due to elbow strain and then the shoulder injury, there were several fitness issues that McClellan confronted. This was problematic for the Cardinals, who wanted a bullpen with the relievers consistent and intact.
When he was to undergo shoulder surgery in July to address a slightly frayed labrum and a split shoulder capsule, it turned out that the surgery would end the season for the pitcher. Which it eventually did.
That fitness issue and the Cardinals move to part ways aside, McClellan also spoke of rehab process, saying it was going really well.
"It's going really well," McClellan said of the rehab process. "Every indication from the rehab staff is that they fully expect me to be healthy in Spring Training, and that's something I'm excited about because I haven't been healthy for a year."
The remaining five arbitration-eligible players’ fate will be decided in days to come, as the Cardinals now have 36 players in 40-man roster.
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