The Cardinals on Monday claimed first baseman and outfielder Alfonso Rivas off waivers from the Angels. Outfield prospect Moises Gomez was designated for assignment in a corresponding move to make room for Rivas on the Cardinals’ 40-man roster.
Rivas, 27, spent the 2023 MLB season within the Pirates and Padres systems. He appeared in 48 MLB games, 40 of which came with the Pirates after they acquired Rivas in a trade ahead of last summer’s trade deadline.
The left-handed-hitting Rivas batted .229 with a .725 OPS in his big league opportunities while hitting .332 with a 1.044 OPS in 58 games for the Padres’ Class AAA affiliate.Â
A native of Chula Vista, California, and a former high school teammate of Tommy Edman, Rivas was claimed and designated for assignment by the Guardians and Angels earlier this offseason.
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Since reaching the majors in 2021 with the Cubs, Rivas — a former fourth-round draft pick by Oakland — has a .243 average and .673 OPS in 167 games. His longest stint in the majors came in 2022 when he appeared in 101 games for the Cubs and produced a .235 average.
Over his first two years within the Cardinals farm system after beginning his minor league career with the Rays, Gomez hit 69 homers and 65 doubles in 251 games between Class AA and Class AAA but also struck out at a rate just above 33% in over 1,000 plate appearances. Gomez’s breakout 2022 season, which included a .996 OPS and a MiLB-leading and Cardinals minor league record 39 home runs, earned him Cardinals co-minor league player of the year honors and a spot on the club’s 40-man roster that following offseason.
The 25-year-old, who is now available to be claimed off waivers by other clubs, maintained 40-man status through all of the 2023 season but did not get a call-up to the majors as he slashed .232/.293/.457 with 30 home runs and 180 strikeouts in 132 games for Class AAA Memphis.
Gomez’s 69 home runs across the last two MiLB seasons are the second most in the minors while his 33% strikeout rate is the highest among qualified players in the Cardinals system over that same span.