ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - The St. Louis Cardinals have signed right-handed pitcher Aaron Brooks to a minor league deal and offered him a non-roster invite to Spring Training. He last pitched in Major League Baseball in 2019 with the Baltimore Orioles, but was most recently with the Kia Tigers of the KBO League in South Korea.
Even in a lockout, the Cardinals are finding ways to add to their starting pitching depth.
Major League players are currently locked out by the owners as the two sides attempt to come to a collective bargaining agreement for the 2022 season and beyond. By rule, teams are not allowed to sign free agents, make trades or complete other transactions.
They are, however, allowed to sign players to minor league deals... and that's where the Cardinals pounced on an opportunity. The team announced Monday it signed Brooks, the former Royals, A's and Orioles pitcher. He's also spent time in the Cubs and Brewers organizations, but was not elevated to the big leagues in 2016 or 2017.
Brooks, 31, was one of the better pitchers in the KBO in 2020. In two seasons with the Tigers he was 14-9 with a 2.79 ERA and 185 strikeouts in 36 starts.
Furthermore, he became a ground ball pitcher in the KBO, a 78.4% ground ball rate that will certainly get one's attention, especially a team like the Cardinals who feature multiple Gold Glovers on the infield.
With his walk rate and ground ball rate to their liking, the Cardinals selected someone who can help them build depth at Memphis and perhaps get a call up when necessary.
Brooks went 9-13 in MLB with a 6.49 ERA. But a deeper look reveals 123 strikeouts and only 53 walks in 170.2 innings.
He had a controversial end to his KBO career.
He was released by the Tigers in August over an alleged mix-up with a vape pen that had traces of marijuana – which is an illegal drug in Korea. The team was notified by Korean Customs that traces of marijuana were found in a vape pen that Brooks ordered, according to KBO insider Daniel Kim.
Brooks released a statement apologizing for the situation, but said he "wasn’t aware that the vape (or pipes) had any traces of marijuana."
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