St. Louis Cardinals left-hander Jared Shuster, once selected 25th overall by the Atlanta Braves in the 2020 draft, has elected free agency after the 2026 season, declining another assignment to Triple-A Memphis.
The move, recorded Sept. 29 on the MiLB transaction log, ends a year of roster ping-pong with the Cardinals and puts the 28-year-old back on the open market.
Shuster signed a minor-league deal with St. Louis on Dec. 22, 2025, after the Athletics released him. Out of options and already carrying prior outrights on his résumé, he was never going to have an easy path to a stable big-league job. The Cardinals still used him as emergency depth.
They selected his contract three times in 2026; each stay ended with a designation for assignment. He cleared waivers and accepted outright assignments in April and May. After a one-day July recall that included a rough outing in a doubleheader against Milwaukee, he was outrighted again.
This time, with the regular season over, he chose free agency instead of remaining organizational depth.
The numbers in St. Louis were thin. Shuster made five relief appearances and posted a 9.00 ERA in nine innings, with four strikeouts. Career-wide, the Wake Forest product has a 5.50 ERA in 150 2/3 major-league innings across the Braves, White Sox, and Cardinals.
The profile that made him a first-round pick—a 6-foot-3 lefty with a changeup and developing slider—has not produced enough swing-and-miss or command at the highest level. His strikeout rate has sat near 15 percent; walks have hovered around 10 percent.
Atlanta drafted him 25th overall in the shortened 2020 class and signed him for just under $2.2 million. He debuted in 2023 and made 11 starts that year.
After the season, the Braves included him in the November 2023 trade that sent Michael Soroka and others to Chicago for Aaron Bummer. The White Sox later lost him on waivers to Oakland.
A brief Athletics stint produced no MLB innings. St. Louis was the next stop.
For a left-handed pitcher with prior big-league time and remaining pre-arbitration control if claimed, Shuster should draw interest as camp or midseason depth.
Clubs that need a swingman or extra lefty in the bullpen can add him cheaply.
Whether he lands a 40-man roster spot or another minor-league deal with an invitation to camp will depend on how teams weigh the first-round pedigree against the results.
The Cardinals move on without him. Shuster, six years after hearing his name called in the first round, will look for a club willing to give a former prospect one more clean look.
