Cardinals' Left-handed Pitcher Jared Shuster Chooses Minor League Free Agency

Left-handed pitcher Jared Shuster, who was hit hard in five games with the Cardinals and was designated for assignment three times in 2026, elected Minor League free agency on Tuesday.

To qualify for Minor League free agency, players have to be outrighted off their team's 40-man rosters without being added back. Also, these players must have multiple outrights on their professional resumes or at least three years of MLB service time.

Shuster, 27, pitched nine innings in five appearances for the Cardinals in 2026. He allowed 11 hits, nine earned runs, a homer and six walks. Used as veteran depth, Shuster appeared in games against the Red Sox on April 11 and 12 and was designated for assignment on April 13. When he wasn't claimed by another team, he returned to the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds.

He returned to the big leagues on May 1, but weas DFAed again on May 16. The Cardinals brought him back to St. Louis on July 7 for a long-relief appearance, but the Brewers knocked him around to the tune of five hits, seven earned runs three walks and a homer in just 1 1/3 innings of work.

A former first-round pick (No. 25 overall) by the Braves in the 2020 MLB Draft, Shuster has pitched for Atlanta (2023), the Chicago White Sox (2024-25) and the Cardinals (2026) at the MLB level.

In 37 games (three starts) with Triple-A Memphis in 2026, the Wake Forest product went 6-4 with a 5.65 ERA. In 63 2/3 innings of work, he struck out 64 hitters, but he also allowed 12 homers.