St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals Sign Jordan Schafer as Pitcher/Outfielder

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The St. Louis Cardinals signed former outfielder Jordan Schafer as a left-handed pitcher with the ability to play the outfield.

Jordan Schafer’s professional baseball career has had some ups and downs along the way. It just took a very interesting turn when the St. Louis Cardinals recently signed him as a “left-handed pitcher with the ability to play the outfield.” Schafer definitely has the ability to play the outfield—he was once a top prospect in the Atlanta Braves organization.

Schafer was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2005 draft by the Atlanta Braves and had some impressive minor league seasons, including a .313/.377/.500 batting line across three levels of the minor leagues in 2007. Prior to the 2008 season, Schafer was ranked 25th on Baseball America’s Top 100 List. ESPN’s Keith Law had him ranked 27th. Unfortunately, Schafer’s career was sidetracked by a 50-game suspension for the use of human growth hormone in April of 2008.

He returned during the 2008 season and continued to show good on-base ability (.376 OBP), but his power was down from the previous season (.438 slugging percentage). He got his first taste of major league action in 2009. Facing Brett Myers in his first major league at-bat, Schafer hit a home run, becoming the 99th player to do so. It was a struggle after that impressive debut. He hit .204/.313/.287 and struck out 63 times in 195 plate appearances (32.3% strikeout rate). That production got him sent back to the minors for the entire 2010 season.

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In 2011, the Braves traded Schafer to the Houston Astros in a five-player deal that brought Michael Bourn to Atlanta. Schafer didn’t hit with Houston either. The Astros put him on waivers after the 2012 season and the Braves gave him a second chance when they claimed him.

The 2013 season was Schafer’s most productive. He got off to a terrific start. Through July 3, he was hitting .312/.399/.464 in 61 games. Then he suffered a stress fracture in his ankle that caused him to miss the next five weeks of the season. He came back in August, but his hitting suffered mightily. In 33 games after the injury, Schafer hit .170/.248/.208. When the 2014 season rolled around, Schafer continued to struggle. He hit .163/.256/.213 in 93 plate appearances with the Braves. They designated him for assignment on August 1.

The next stop for the Jordan Schafer Experience was Minnesota. The Twins claimed him off waivers and gave him some playing time down the stretch of the 2014 season. He responded to the opportunity by hitting .285/.345/.362. That got him the Opening Day start for the Twins in 2015. Once again, though, he didn’t take advantage of the opportunity. He hit .217/.250/.261 in 74 plate appearances and was released in June.

The Dodgers signed Schafer last January and converted him to a pitcher. He started the year in Double-A Tulsa and pitched well enough (46 strikeouts in 40 innings) to be selected for the mid-season Texas League All-Star Game. After 31 games with Tulsa, Schafer was moved up to Triple-A Oklahoma City and pitched in six games. In 49 1/3 minor league innings, Schafer had a 4.93 ERA and 1.50 WHIP, but also struck out 59 batters. He has a lively arm.

The next chapter for Schafer will be with the St. Louis Cardinals. Schafer will attempt to get back to the big leagues as a left-handed reliever. The Cardinals specifically noted that Schafer was signed as a pitcher with the ability to play the outfield, so it will be interesting to see if Schafer can be a Brooks Kieschnick or Micah Owings type. Kieschnick and Owings both pitched and regularly pinch-hit. Kieschnick also played in the field occasionally.

It’s interesting that the Cardinals are the team looking to tap into Schafer’s ability to pitch and play the field. Ten years ago, the Cardinals moved highly-regarded young pitcher Rick Ankiel to the outfield after Ankiel lost the ability to throw strikes almost overnight.

During his career, Ankiel had a 3.90 ERA in 242 innings pitched and hit .240/.302/.422 in 2,115 plate appearances. In his best season as a pitcher, he was 11-7 with a 3.50 ERA. As an outfielder, he had a .264/.337/.506, 25-homer season. Schafer is unlikely to attain that level of play, but he could be a useful piece for the Cardinals in the future.

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