ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Amid the Major League Baseball labor lockout, there are some new roster moves to report for the St. Louis Cardinals. The team selected four players in the annual Minor League Rule 5 Draft, two outfielders and two pitchers.
The Cardinals' first-round selection (17th overall) was outfielder Ben DeLuzio from the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. He was born in St. Louis, but moved before high school and was drafted out of Windermere, Florida.
The 27-year-old is known for his speed and defense, as he's hit more triples (24) than home runs (9) and has 110 steals in 368 MiLB games. He's also as consistent of a hitter as they come, with a career .294 average. His worst season was 2018 when he hit .264 between rookie ball and AA.
DeLuzio, who is listed on the AAA Memphis Redbirds roster, comes from a big sports family as his older sister played basketball at Florida State and his brother is a volleyball star at Pepperdine University.
St. Louis selected three other players: righthander Carlos Guarate, 20, lefty Nelfri Contreras, 22, and outfielder Jonah Davis, 24.
The Cardinals lost only one player in the draft, Class AA shortstop Moises Castillo. He was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the first round.
Unlike the Major League portion of the annual Rule 5 Draft (which isn't happening due to the lockout this year), these MiLB players don't have to be added and kept on the team's active roster in 2022. These players can be placed at any level of the minors and are typically used to just fill out roster spots in the developmental levels.
After each selection, the team pays the player's original team $24,500 and the player is assigned to the team's AAA roster. But those players can be moved to any level once the season begins.
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