Saturday marked a significant day for the St. Louis Cardinals and their fans.
Supporters had been eagerly waiting for the club to promote No. 7 overall prospect Quinn Mathews after his outstanding performances at Triple-A. Earlier this week, reports indicated that the talented left-hander would receive his first major league call-up this weekend, and on Saturday, the Cardinals officially confirmed the promotion.
The Cardinals didn’t stop with Mathews’ promotion.
To clear a spot on the active roster, St. Louis optioned reliever Matt Svanson to Triple-A. The club also made a more surprising move by designating former top pitching prospect Tink Hence for assignment, bringing an abrupt end to his time on the 40-man roster.
“In corresponding moves, RHP Matt Svanson has been optioned to Memphis,” the Cardinals announced. “RHP Tink Hence has been designated for assignment.”
Optioning Svanson isn’t shocking. He has a 7.27 ERA in 41 appearances in the big leagues this season and -1.3 wins above replacement. He’s been optioned before this season and now he’s heading back down to Triple-A. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to pitch at the level he did last year as a rookie when he logged a 1.94 ERA in 39 appearances.
The move here that is raising eyebrows is designating Hence for assignment. It’s unfortunate how things have gone for the young righty. He’s just 23 years old, so there’s plenty of upside still there. But he’s been inconsistent and has had bad luck with injuries as well. Back in 2024, Hence was the Cardinals’ No. 1 overall prospect after Masyn Winn graduated from prospect status. That goes to show how much upside he has. He logged a 1.38 ERA in 16 starts in 2022 for Class-A Palm Beach in his first season getting extended time in professional baseball. In 2021, he pitched in eight games as he made his professional debut.
In 2023, he had a 4.31 ERA but made his way up to Double-A, just two steps away from the big leagues. In 2024, he had a 2.71 ERA in 20 starts in Double-A. Since then, it has been downhill. In 2025, he had a 2.95 ERA, but made just eight appearances. This year, he was transitioned to the bullpen and had a 6.64 ERA in 19 outings before being DFA’d.
Injuries were the biggest story of his career in the Cardinals’ system. Now, he’s being designated for assignment and it would be pretty surprising if another club didn’t claim him or try to make a deal. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted that the DFA will allow St. Louis a few days to explore trades before the deadline.
There was a time when Hence looked like someone who could be at the top of the Cardinals’ rotation one day. Now, it seems like his time with the club could come to an end.
