The Cardinals announced that right-hander Tink Hence has been designated for assignment.  The move opens up a 40-man roster space for Quinn Mathews, whose contract has now been officially selected from Triple-A (as reported two days ago).  Righty Matt Svanson was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding 26-man roster move for Mathews.

Hence was a second-round pick in the 2020 draft, and the righty was still getting top-100 prospect attention as recently as 2025.  However, Hence now finds himself in roster limbo to make way for another up-and-coming young arm in Mathews, who will make his MLB debut in today’s start against the Blue Jays.

Baseball America and MLB Pipeline each still rank Hence 28th in their rankings of the top 30 St. Louis prospects, and it seems quite likely that the Cardinals will swing a deal for Hence before Monday’s trade deadline.  Still, Hence’s star has certainly dimmed over the last couple of years due to injuries, including a lat strain, chest tightness, and shoulder problems.

The Cards have mostly used Hence as a reliever at Triple-A Memphis this season as a way of keeping him healthy, yet Hence has struggled to a 6.64 ERA and an 18.2% walk rate over 20 1/3 innings.  This season marked Hence’s first stint in Triple-A ball, and he has struggled mightily with his control and at keeping the ball in the park, as he has allowed four homers in his small sample size of work.

Hence doesn’t turn 24 until later this week, so it is possible he might be getting a change of teams as a birthday present.  If a trade doesn’t materialize, certainly some team will be willing to use a 40-man roster spot on Hence to see if their pitching lab can help him get back on track.  Speculatively, the Angels and interim GM John Mozeliak might have interest, as Mozeliak was running the St. Louis front office when Hence was drafted.