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Rule 5 Update: Brian Broderick Returned

Walkin' in Memphis

As expected, the St. Louis Cardinals accepted December 2010 Rule 5 pick Brian Broderick back from the Nationals yesterday, ending his brief stint in the Nationals organization.

Broderick had been a surprise candidate to make the big club, despite his Rule 5 status, but his inexperience as a reliever and/or Jim Riggleman’s misuse of him led to disastrous results, with 16 hits and 9 runs surrendered in 11 appearances for an ERA of 6.57 and a WHIP of 1.541.

St. Louis immediately assigned him to Memphis, but his role with the AAA club remains to be determined, particularly with the coinciding move of sending down reliever Mitchell Boggs to be stretched back out as a reliever.

11 Commments

  1. I think he showed some good potential but I also think they did the right thing cutting him loose. I would love to know what St Louis asked for in return, assuming they even discussed a trade.

  2. The kid wasn’t ready–that should have been apparent from his very first outing. That said, I wish him well. It’s not his fault that we set him up to fail.

  4. The way this was handled had ‘Amateur Hour’ from the start for the Nats F.O.

    The Cardinals were simply too smart to let him get away again.

    1. How was this “Amateur Hour” by the Nats FO? We don’t know what the Cards were offering the Nats (if anything) in a trade for us to keep him. Would you simply preferred that he stay on the 25-man roster all season long?

      1. It didn’t matter what the Nats were going to offer the Cards, the Cards wanted him back.
        Wait till Dave Duncan works with him.

        Let’s follow the line here……….. they draft a Rule 5 starting pitcher and after he’s lights out in ST, they try to hide him in the bullpen, which is the only strength the Nats had. And they have all kind of pitchers w/o options. It’s obvious they never made any thoughts of how they were going to get from point #1 to point #2 to point #3. It’s been painful to watch.

        Thankfully, we have this site, as all the good stories are here on the farm.
        Thank you, Sue.

        1. @MarkL
          I just think that the RiZzO is enamored with “inventory”. For me, this is a problem when guys like Broderick block guys like Kimball, who was probably ready to roll out of spring training. I also don’t why they have decided to give a single inning to Chad Guadin.

      2. I think Rizzo’s offseason mantra was to start the season with proven major leaguers, not stars mind you, but the best he could find. As they fail or when the young talent prove themselves ready, like KImball over the first 30 games at Syracuse, he’ll bring them up. After three years of Atilano, Martis, and even to an extent Detwiler, I can’t say I blame him.

  5. I saw him in spring training and I was at his debut disaster. I don’t believe that Riggs or McCatty ever bought into this guy, and I think that we lost a good one here. He will be in the major leagues in the future and will do very well there. Too bad we could not have made a trade and kept him at Syracuse. The Cards got back a high potential pitcher with major league experience that they did not have to pay for.

  6. They get $50,000. Thats what they get. I am happy to see them cut ties. He wasn’t ready.

    1. I would have loved to see the Nationals’ tuck Broderick away in Syracuse for another year via trade, because he could be a good one; He just wasn’t quite ready for the ‘big show’. Unfortunately, the way the Rule 5 works, St.Louis gets him back & can continue his development in Memphis as a possible SP in 2012 & beyond. I blame Wainright’s injury for this one.

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