Cardinal is expected to designate utilities Garrett Hampson According to Katie Woo of Track and Field, serving in a range of squads will be the official tomorrow. Hampson’s active roster will enter Alec Burlesonplan to activate from the injured list tomorrow. Hampson’s 40-man lineup will go left-handed Nick Raquetwill choose his contract to enter the Major League Baseball lineup tomorrow. Raquet will occupy 40 right-handed Andre Granilloexpected to be selected as Triple-A.
Hampson, 31, opened next month as a member of the Diamondbacks after signing a minor league contract with the club in the offseason. He was selected for the major league roster but eventually played only 18 games before being designated as a mission in early May. Later that month, he was signed by the Reds to reach a Major League Baseball deal and held on until late June when he was once again designated as a mission and the Cardinal took off his immunity.
Hampson reached only .167/.310/.188 in 24 games this year, and his offense hasn’t really improved in the ten weeks of the organization. In fact, they are heading in the wrong direction as he will complete his cardinal career in the .103/.133/.138 Slash series with a 31-dish appearance. Hampson worked less on this dish with St. Louis than Arizona and Cincinnati, but he actually did show up in more games due to his role as a defensive substitute and the pinch of the late game. During his tenure with the organization, he appeared in all three out-of-scenes spots for the Cardinal, also playing second base, third base and shortstop.
This versatility has often been Hampson’s phone card for years. Although his career was a .235/.298/.353 batsman, despite his offensive numbers being exaggerated for five years at Coors Field, he usually manages to stay professionally due to his value as a versatile bench. Since leaving Colorado, he has played for the Marlins and the Royals before the three teams in this year’s National League tour. Looking ahead, the action will be seven days after the official attempt to pass the waiver. Maybe he will be asked by a team that requires depth on the bench, but if he clears the waiver, he will have the option to take Triple-A’s direct mission in the final weeks of the season, or choose a free agent.
Hampson’s departure made room for Burleson’s return, and he last played on August 28 due to an inflamed wrist. Burleson spent a breakout season with the Cardinals this year as the 26-year-old hit .286/.337/.451 with 16 home runs in just 122 games. It was the best three-innings of his career, though that wasn’t enough to bring the Cardinal into this year’s playoffs, and Burleson’s figures once again allocated time between the first base next season, DH and Outfield Corners.
As for Raquet, the 29-year-old left-hander will actually make his debut if he plays with the Cardinals. Back in 2017, the Nationals’ third-round draft pick, Raquet worked in a low-level minor until the end of the 2019 season, but he resurfaced among the professionals in the 2023 after the cancelled minor league season in 2020.
Since then, Raquet has been working on the minor league ladder and now he has won 1.68 ERA in this year’s doubles and triple A, and this year he will receive a cardinal reliefist, and he will have the chance to show what he can do at a major league level. As for Granillo, the rookie right-hander played only 14 MLBs when he was a multi-inning reliefist, playing as a 4.71 ERA in 21 innings. He will head to Triple-A, where he has 1.50 ERA in 24 outings, waiting for his next major league chance to arrive.
