Cardinals has signed a deal with KIA Tigers of the Korea Baseball Organization for the 2024 season.
The Cardinals announced late Thursday night that they’d transferred Naile to the KIA Tigers in exchange for cash considerations. The Cardinals received a transfer fee of $250,000 according to the KIA Tigers’ announcement.
Naile’s departure opened a spot on the Cardinals 40-man roster, and the Cardinals filled that spot on Friday morning with the signing of a major-league free agent and former Cardinals All-Star Matt Carpenter.
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Naile, 30, had a standout prep career at Charleston High School in Missouri before he went on to Parkland Community College in Illinois and the University of Alabama Birmingham. The Oakland Athletics drafted Naile in the 20th round of the 2015 MLB Draft out of UAB. He worked mostly as a starting pitcher in the Athletics’ farm system.
The Cardinals signed him as a minor-league free agent in November 2021. He pitched primarily in relief for the Cardinals. He made 95 total appearances in the minors in 2021-22 (all at the Triple-A level), and he made his major-league debut for the Cardinals on June 27, 2022.
Last season, Naile made 31 appearances for Triple-A Memphis and also 10 appearances in the majors. The Cardinals first selected his contract May 5. They optioned him to the minors five times throughout the season.
In his 10 relief appearances in the majors in 2023, Naile allowed 15 earned runs in 15 1/3 innings for a 8.80 ERA with a 2.35 WHIP. He struck out seven, walked nine and opponents batted .380 against him during his time with the Cardinals.
In the minors in 2023, Naile posted a 3.66 ERA with a 1.37 WHIP and opponents batted .267 against him. He struck out 66 batters and walked 21 in 59 innings.
Naile, who attended the Winter Warm-Up last weekend in ºüÀêÊÓƵ, had trained this offseason in Tennessee alongside Cardinals starting pitchers Sonny Gray and Steven Matz.
The announcement from the KIA Tigers highlighted Naile’s history as a starting pitcher in college and early in his minor-league career.