The Cardinals have outrighted 33-year old lefty swinging catcher Mark Johnson to AAA making him a free agent. Johnson played in 10 games for the Cardinals last season and he was 5 for 17 (.294 avg, .627 OPS) with 1 run scored and 2 RBIs. Johnson has now played in 332 games in his major league career and he is 204 for 934 (.218 avg, .632 OPS) with 115 runs scored, 16 homers and 83 RBIs. The Cardinals won’t miss Johnson at all in the future.

The Cardinals have decided to let 31-year old lefty starting pitcher Mark Mulder to walk away by not picking up his option for the 2009 season. He pitched in only 3 games (1 start) for the Cardinals last season and he was 0-0 with a 10.80 ERA and a 3.60 WHIP. In parts of four seasons for the Cardinals, Mulder pitched in 55 games (53 starts) in which he was 22-18 with a 5.04 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. It’s a shame that injuries have derailed Mulder’s once very promising career. Some team will likely invite him to spring training over the winter.

The St. Louis Cardinals have designated 1B Josh Phelps for assignment. Phelps played in 19 games for the Cardinals last season and he was 9 for 34 (.265 avg, .600 OPS) with 4 runs and 1 RBI. Phelps has a nice bat but the 30-year old 1B has never really got an extended shot to show what he can do. Phelps has now played in 465 games in his major league career and he is 380 for 1,394 (.273 avg, .815 OPS) with 198 runs scored, 64 homers and 244 RBIs. Phelps has whiffed 397 times in his major league career which is one reason why he has never really got his shot but the other is that he’s pretty much a DH in the field. He was a catcher coming up to the majors but he converted to 1B early on for defensive reasons. The Cardinals don’t need Phelps as Albert Pujols should be healthy in 2009 due to the surgery he has had done to his elbow.

The Cardinals have claimed 29-year old lefty reliever Charlie Manning off waivers from the Nationals. Manning pitched in 57 games (0 starts) as a rookie last season and he was 1-3 with a 5.14 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. He worked 42 innings in 2008 for the Nationals allowing only 35 hits and whiffing 37 batters. Pitching coach Dave Duncan will have to straighten out control issues with Manning for him to reach his full potential as he walked 31 batters last season. This was a nice low risk addition to the Cardinals.