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Two Former Top Pitching Prospects, Eight Others Released by Cardinals
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- Two Former Top Pitching Prospects, Eight Others Released by Cardinals
Roundtable Sports' John Denton discusses the St. Louis Cardinals Minor League roster moves on Tuesday.
Tink Hence, who rose as high as the No. 2-ranked prospect in the St. Louis Cardinals system in 2023 before struggling with repeated arm and shoulder injuries, was released by the club on Tuesday and is now a Minor League free agent.
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Hence, 24, was the No. 63 overall pick by the Cardinals from the 2020 MLB Draft – the same one that included St. Louis standouts Jordan Walker, Masyn Winn and Alec Burleson.
Hence was one of 10 Minor League players who the Cardinals released on Tuesday. Zack Thompson, a first-round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft by the Cardinals, was another of the players let go by the franchise. Thompson, 29, made his MLB debut in 2022 when he pitched in 22 big-league games and went 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA. He struggled through a 5-7 season with a 4.48 ERA over 25 games (nine starts) in 2023, and he was demoted to Triple-A in 2024 after pitching in five games (two starts) with the Cardinals. In 52 career games with the Cardinals (12 starts), Thompson went 6-10 with a 4.50 ERA. He had 119 strikeouts in 118 innings pitched.
The Cardinals also released right-handed pitchers Jose Davila, Bruno Lopez, Ryan Murphy, Sem Robberse, Darlin Saladin, and Gerardo Salas, first baseman Bligh Madris and catcher Andy Yerzy on Tuesday.
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Those moves made room for three newcomers signed by the Cardinals to Minor League deals on Tuesday: Right-handed pitcher Randel Clemente, left-handed pitcher Josh Fleming and infielder Ramon Mendoza.
Fleming, 30 is a native of Bridgeton, Mo., a suburb of St. Louis. He pitched four seasons with the Rays, one with the Pirates and with the Blue Jays in 2026 after being out of the big leagues in 2025. He appeared in one game with Toronto in 2026 and yielded six hits, four earned runs and a homer over three innings of work.
Clemente, 24, has been in the Cardinals system since he was 19 years old, and he went 4-2 with a 5.29 ERA over 43 relief appearances with Double-A Springfield in 2026. He has appeared in five games in the Dominican Witner League and is 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA.
As for Mendoza, the Tijuana, Mexico, native, has been in the Cardinals system since 2018. Capable of playing second base, third and shortstop, Mendoza played in 115 games with Triple-A Memphis last season and slashed .291/.380/.437/.817 with 28 doubles, nine homers and 50 RBI.
Despite featuring a rail-thin, 6-foot-1 frame, Hence was able to generate upper-90s velocity and a sharp-breaking curveball and was once seen as a future star with the Cardinals.
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Hence ranked No. 2 in the Cardinals Minor League system in 2024 and No. 3 in 2025, but injuries and ineffectiveness kept him from ever progressing past Double-A Springfield until a short stint with Triple-A Memphis in 2026.
However, injuries limited him to just 16 games in 2022, 23 games in 2023, 20 games in 2024 and eight games in 2025. With his velocity waning, the Cardinals experimented with him as a reliever in 2026 in Triple-A Memphis, but he pitched to a 6.64 ERA before being shut down.
