Injuries & Moves: RHP Rodriguez returns on Minors deal
 Wilking Rodriguez re-signed to Minor League deal
Outrighted last week to make room on the 40-man roster, Rodriguez re-signed with the Cardinals on a Minor League deal, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said on Tuesday.
Rodriguez, who was selected in the 2022 Rule 5 Draft out of the Yankees’ organization, elected free agency after being outrighted. The hard-throwing right-hander, who didn’t pitch at the MLB level this past season because of a shoulder injury, was offered back to the Yankees, per the Rule 5 rules, but New York declined its option and Rodriguez cleared waivers, making him a free agent.
A native of Venezuela, Rodriguez pitched in two MLB games with the Royals in 2014. The Cardinals discovered him while he was pitching in the Mexican League in ’22, but they were unable to negotiate a buyout to bring him to St. Louis. The Yankees signed Rodriguez following the ’22 Mexican League season, but they left him unprotected, which allowed the Cardinals to pick him in the Rule 5 Draft.
The 33-year-old Rodriguez was bothered by shoulder pain during Spring Training. He was placed on the 60-day injured list on March 27, and he later had an arthroscopic procedure on his shoulder. He pitched in seven games with Triple-A Memphis, but he was shut down when the shoulder pain returned.
