The Yankees have returned Rule 5 pick Cade Winquest to the Cardinals, according to announcements from both clubs. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week. Winquest does not take a spot on the Cards’ 40-man roster. He has been assigned to Triple-A Memphis.

Winquest, 26 this month, had a bit of an unusual Rule 5 experience. The Yankees don’t make a lot of selections in that draft but decided to take a shot on Winquest. He didn’t have a dominant spring. He tossed ten Grapefruit League innings, allowing eight earned runs via 13 hits, four walks and one hit batter while striking out eight.

The Yanks had some roster breathing room to begin the year. Due to some off-days, they started the season with a four-man rotation and optioned Luis Gil to the minors. That was enough room for Winquest to hold a spot for a bit but the Yankees didn’t put him into a game. A couple of weeks into the season, Gil was recalled to rejoin the rotation and Winquest was designated for assignment.

Per the parameters of the Rule 5 draft, another club could have acquired him but would have been subject to the standard restrictions, namely that Rule 5 guys can’t be optioned to the minors throughout the year. If a Rule 5 guy is passed through waivers, he has to be offered back to his original club, with that team not having to give him a roster spot.

Though not making his debut might have been awkward for him, Winquest at least got to hang around big leaguers for a few weeks, getting major league pay and service time. He’ll now report to Triple-A to continue his development with the Cards. He split last year between High-A and Double-A, tossing 106 innings with a 3.99 earned run average, 23.9% strikeout rate, 8.5% walk rate and 48% ground ball rate.

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