The St. Louis Cardinals have already lost a piece of pitching depth as the offseason opens. Left-hander Jared Shuster elected free agency on Sept. 29, refusing another minor-league assignment after a year that never stuck at the major-league level.
The transaction was logged on the official MiLB report and confirmed in the club’s public moves. Shuster, who had been outrighted off the 40-man roster earlier in the season and was not added back, was eligible to walk once the regular season ended. He took that option rather than return to Triple-A Memphis.
Shuster arrived on a minor-league contract signed Dec. 22, 2025, after the Athletics released him. The Cardinals were buying a former first-round arm on the cheap: Atlanta selected the Wake Forest left-hander 25th overall in 2020, and he had already logged big-league time with the Braves and White Sox before reaching St. Louis.
The fit never held. Shuster was designated for assignment in April, May, and July, cleared waivers each time, and accepted outright assignments to Memphis in the spring and early summer. A brief July recall produced a rough outing in a doubleheader against Milwaukee and another trip through waivers. By season’s end, the organization had seen enough of the same result.
In five relief appearances with St. Louis, Shuster posted a 9.00 ERA over nine innings, with four strikeouts, six walks, and a 1.89 WHIP. He did not record a decision. At Triple-A Memphis he made 37 appearances and finished with a 5.65 ERA in 63 2/3 innings. Across his career he has worked roughly 150 major-league innings with an ERA in the low-to-mid 5.00s, a strikeout rate near 15 percent, and a walk rate around 10 percent. The changeup-and-slider profile that made him a first-round pick has not produced enough swing-and-miss or command at the highest level.
The departure is not a roster crisis. Shuster was depth on a non-guaranteed deal, easy to add and easy to move. Losing him does not change the shape of a bullpen that remains the clearest hole after a 77-85 finish, fourth in the National League Central. It does close the book on a former top prospect who got multiple looks in St. Louis and could not seize one.
Shuster, 28, is now a free agent and can sign with any club. The Cardinals move into the winter still looking for reliable relief help, with Shuster no longer part of that search.
