Cardinals cut five players from their roster and allow two seasoned pitchers to become free agents.
As the Cardinals continue to prepare for the November shopping season, they have cut five players from their 40-man roster and allowed two veteran pitchers to become free agents.
Casey Lawrence, a veteran reliever who helped the Cardinals get through September with a few appearances, and Andrew Suarez were both removed from the 40-man roster.
Because of their professional baseball experience, they each had the option of entering free agency rather than remaining in the Cardinals organization on a minor league roster.
In addition, pitcher Kyle Leahy and infielders Irving Lopez and Juniel Querecuto were designated for assignment by the Cardinals.
The transactions come a day after starting pitcher Adam Wainwright announced his retirement and the Cardinals claimed infielder Buddy Kennedy off waivers from Oakland.
Lawrence went 1-0 with a 6.59 ERA in 2713 innings of relief for the Cardinals over 15 games.
Suarez has a 7.16 ERA in 2723 innings pitched over 13 games this season.
Leahy only pitched 123 innings in three appearances, and his ERA suffered as a result.
Lopez was a late-season acquisition who rewarded years in the minors and capitalized on his versatility.
He had few at-bats, however, and went hitless in 11. Querecuto hit.100 with a.293 OPS in nine major league games.