Brett

Cecil

The 35-year-old southpaw made the announcement on his personal Instagram page. Cecil was cut loose by the Cardinals in July 2020 after missing the entire 2019 season due to injury. He appeared in 443 games with the Blue Jays and Cardinals during his 10 seasons in the big leagues, posting a 4.29 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 670/269 K/BB ratio over 756 innings.

Cecil was a $30.5 million mistake by the Cards, as he gave them one decent season and one awful one before missing all of 2019 due to injury. He was trying a new sidearm delivery in summer camp in hopes of salvaging the final year on his contract, but the team has elected to move on. They’re covered from the left side in the bullpen with Kwang-Hyun Kim, Andrew Miller, Tyler Webb and Austin Gomber.

“I feel like this is definitely a good thing for me,” he told reporters via Zoom on Tuesday. Cecil is getting desperate at this point to revive his career after missing all of the 2019 season due to a range of injuries and struggling to a 6.89 ERA over 40 appearances in 2018. The 34-year-old lefty reliever is in the final year of a highly disappointing four-year, $30.5 million agreement with the Cardinals.

It was reported in early April that Cecil briefly had to shut down his rehab due to a personal matter, but it sounds like he’s back on track. He’s making progress, but there should be more clarity about his throwing program once the Cardinals have a better idea about the potential timing of the season. Cecil suffered a right hamstring tear while attempting to cover first base back on March 11.

The left-hander -- who is recovering from a torn right hamstring -- had to shut down his rehab briefly due to a personal matter. He’s expected to resume his rehab next week, though there’s still no clear timeline on his recovery -- though there’s at least some chance that he’ll be ready in time for the start of the regular season, whenever that may be.

Cecil strained his right hamstring while attempting to cover first base Wednesday in Grapefruit League play. The oft-injured left-handed reliever will open the 2020 regular season on the injured list.

Cecil injured his right hamstring on Wednesday while attempting to cover first base. The left-hander told reporters he heard a pop, and the Cardinals will have the left-hander undergo imaging to see the severity of the injury.

The Cardinals have been debating whether to carry Cecil, who is due $7 million in the final year of his contract, or to try someone younger. They can push back that decision if Cecil’s injury leads to an IL stint.

Cecil has been out all season after surgery to alleviate the effects of carpal tunnel syndrome in his left hand, wrist, and forearm. While he has begun throwing, Cecil is several weeks away from being able pitch in game situations, and president of baseball operations John Mozeliak recently said he would “welcome” Cecil working towards making his return in 2020. He should be considered out indefinitely at this point.

Cecil has been out all season and underwent surgery in early April to alleviate the effects of carpal tunnel syndrome in his left hand, wrist, and forearm. He’s been throwing on flat ground for the last couple of weeks without issue. The left-hander could be an option for the Cardinals’ bullpen around mid-to-late July, but there’s not much reason for optimism results-wise. Cecil has posted a 4.86 ERA in 113 appearances with St. Louis since signing a four-year, $30.5 million contract in November 2016.