Cardinals Sign RHP Nick Wittgren to One-Year Deal

SIX-YEAR VETERAN RELIEVER MADE 258 CAREER APPEARANCES FOR CLEVELAND & MIAMI

ST. LOUIS, MO., March 13, 2022 – The St. Louis Cardinals announced today that they have agreed to terms with free-agent right-handed pitcher Nick Wittgren.

Wittgren, 30, was originally drafted by the Miami Marlins out of Purdue University in the ninth round of the 2012 draft and made his Major League debut in 2016.

Over 258 career appearances, Wittgren has compiled an 18-15 record with a 3.75 ERA and 265 strikeouts covering 271.1 innings. He locked down five saves, all coming as a member of the Cleveland franchise the last three seasons.

With a penchant to strand runners, Wittgren has an inherited runners scored mark of 19.8%, ranking 6^th among Major League pitchers since 2016.

In 2021, Wittgren posted a 2-9 record while establishing career-high marks with 60 appearances, 62.1 innings pitched and 61 strikeouts, including his first ever Major League start.

Since his debut in 2016, Wittgren ranked 20^th in Major League Baseball in strikeout/walk ratio (3.49) among pitchers with 250 or more appearances.

Wittgren will report to Cardinals camp today and wear uniform number 30.

— STL —

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Wittgren will make $1.2M this season. The righty had average strikeout numbers with good walk numbers before 2021, where he saw his strikeout numbers drop and a career worse ERA (5.05). Maybe this was due to workload, maybe it was due to something else.

While this isn’t a sexy signing, this is one the Cardinals usually do alright on. They have better luck with low risk signings for the bullpen (Luis Garcia, T.J. McFarland) then the higher priced guys (Andrew Miller, Luke Gregerson, Brett Cecil).

He’s been added to the Salary Matrix and the Transaction Tracker.