2029 St. Louis River Walkers: Looking to make another run

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The St. Louis River Walkers got started on their 2029 campaign by finalizing five arbitration cases.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have announced that free-agent pitcher Adonis Medina has signed a six-year contract with the Cleveland Guitar Heroes worth $21.8 million per season.

Medina, 31, spent five seasons with the Walkers going 41-28 with a 3.07 ERA.
That included a Cy Young winning campaign in 2027 when he was 14-6 with a 2.76 ERA.
In 2028, Medina was 12-8 with a 3.53 ERA.
Medina, however, spent two 10-day stints on the disabled list in 2028, and saw his injury proneness changed to fragile.
This is what scared the Walkers from signing him to a long-term deal.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have lost reserve first baseman Matt Olson, who has signed with the Cedar Rapids Golden Grapplers as a free agent.
Olson spent only the last two months of the 2028 season in St. Louis, brought in mainly as a clubhouse presence and left-handed bat of the the bench.
The 34-year-old got into 33 games during which he batted .240 with four homers and 11 RBIs.
With Cris Rosario having such a good rookie season at first base, St. Louis saw no need to re-sign Olson who inked a deal worth $7.7 million.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have watched another key player from their 2028 National League championship team sign elsewhere, as second baseman Ozzie Albies has agreed to a four-year deal with the Green Bay Long Haulers.
Albies, 31, spent just one season in St. Louis before opting out of the final year of his contract.

It would have been worth $25 million.
In his deal with the Haulers., Albies will make $25.4 million per season for the next four years.
It was the fragile tag which was afixed to Albies during his time in St. Louis which scared the Walkers from trying to bring him back.
In his lone season in St. Louis, Albies also saw a drop in his numbers batting just .283 with 17 homers and 70 RBIs in 121 games.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have announced the signing of Brian Looney as their bench coach.
The 59-year-old Looney spent the past two seasons as the bench coach for AAA Tacoma.
The three-year deal is worth $700,000 per season.
He replaces Chip Hale, who was let go after four seasons as the Walkers' bench coach.
Hale has been hired as the manager of the Columbus Golden Bears.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have announced that free-agent shortstop Jean Carmona has agreed to a seven-year contract to remain in St. Louis.
The deal averages $22.5 million per season for the three-game Gold-Glove winner.
In 2028, Carmona played in 135 games for the Walkers during which he batted .268 with 15 homers and 54 RBIs while winning a Gold Glove at his position.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have traded for infielder Duke Kinamon in exchange for minor league center fielder Casey Davis.
The 32-year-old Kinamon spent last season playing second base for the Keg Lifters but also has good skills at second where he is expected to start for the Walkers.
In 136 games, Kinamon batted .258 with 23 homers and 50 RBIs.
Davis, 24, played seven games in the majors for St. Louis, batting .143 with no homers or RBIs.
But played a big role in Memphis winning the PCL title.
He batted .266 for the Redbirds with 21 homers and 73 RBIs.

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MBL news: Hall call goes unanswered, no one gets voted in

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Walkers news: Player Development Report for February 1, 2029

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MBL news: Preseason predictions on February 1, 2029

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The St.Louis River Walkers have announced the signing of left-handed relief pitcher Luiz Gohara and right-handed starting pitcher Kwon Ju to minor-league contracts.
Gohara, 32, started last season with Akron before being released and signed by Dayton.
He pitched in a total of 65 games, going 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA and one save.
Gohara began his career in the River Walkers organization including parts of four seasons in the majors between 2018 and 2021.
His record in St. Louis was 28-18 with a 4.50 ERA in 66 games (64 starts).
For his career, Gohara has pitched in 498 games going 110-102 with a 4.10 ERA.
Ju, 33, is looking to make the jump to the majors after spending his entire career in the KBO.
Over 13 seasons, Ju has gone 131-115 in 423 games.

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Walkers news: Player Development Report for March 1, 2029

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Walkers news: March 3 -- Standings and team statistics after Week 1

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Walkers news: March 3 -- Standings and team statistics after Week 1

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Walkers news: Spring training Week 3 -- Standings and statistics

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Walkers news: Spring training Week 3 -- Standings and statistics

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Walkers news: Spring training final standings and statistics

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MBL news: Preseason predictions on Opening Day

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Walkers news: Player Development Report for April 1, 2028 and note from owner

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At 98-64, the St. Louis River Walkers posted the best record in the Mississippi Baseball League 2028.
But they didn't reach their ultimate goal, falling in six games to the Fort Wayne Mad Men in the World Series.
Not surprisingly, a few key members of that team have moved on for bigger pay days.
But the Walkers have also added one of the top prospects in all of the minors to their lineup along with a highly touted pitcher out of Korea.
A year ago, the preseason predictions had the Walkers pegged to win just 72 games. They were off by 26.
This season, they're held in a little bit higher regard with 83 wins but still pegged for a fourth-place finish in the National League South Division.
Will see if they can surprise the experts again.
Gone missing
* SP Adoinis Medina: The 2028 NL Cy Young winners has moved onto Cleveland via free agency, where he signed a six-year deal worth $130 million.
Medina, 32, was very good in his time with the Walkers. He went 12-8 in 2029 to put him at 41-28 in his four years in St. Louis
But three trips to the injured list, upping his injury proneness to fragile, made it too scary for a pitcher who will be 38 at the end of his deal.
* 2B Ozzie Albies: Acquired from Green Bay prior to the 2028 season, Albies opted out of the final year of his $25 million contract to enter free agency.
Albies, 32, played well in his time with St. Louis but somewhat below past numbers as he hit .283 with 17 homers and 70 RBIs.
The biggest issue was injuries, he went on the injured list three times and played just 121 games.
He also now possess a fragile label.

Albies opted to return to Green Bay, where he got a five-year contract worth $127 million.

Additions, sort of
* SS Jean Carmona: Yes, Carmona has been a member of the Walkers' organization since being signed out of the Domincan Republic as a 16-year-old in 2017.
But he also was the No. 2 ranked player in the 2029 free-agent market.
St. Louis took a gamble and brought the three-time Gold Glove winner back on a seven-year deal worth $157 million.
They'd like to see his offense pick up, he batted .268 with 15 homers and 54 RBIs in 2028, but his glove his helped him lead the team in WAR each of the past two seasons.
* CF Jose Segura: The team's top prospect and the 10th ranked prospect in the league, Segura is ready to make his debut after helping Memphis win the Pacific Coast League title in 2028.
Signed as a free agent out of Cuba, Segura needed just one season of minor league ball to prove himself ready for the bigs.
He batted .317 for the Redbirds with 28 homers and 112 RBIs.

Segura, 23, is also rated an above-average defender in center fielder, and could be a future superstar
* 2B Duke Kinamon: The RIver Walkers made a deal with Evansville to fill the void at second base, bringing in 32-year-old Duke Kinamon.
In his only season with the Bossemen, after playing six seasons for Quad City, Kinamon batted .258 with 23 homers and 50 RBIs.
He's a plus defender at second and can provide defensive depth at first base.
The Walkers gave up minor league center fielder Casey Davis in exchange for Kinamon.


* SP Kwon Ju: A 33-year-old right-hander from Korea, Ju agreed to a minor-league contract and then pitched himself in a rotation spot with a good spring.
Ju spent the 2028 season with the Hanwha Eagles, where he went 11-6 with a 3.99 ERA. He owns a career record of 131-115.
* 3B Jose Reyes: He's a little raw, but the Walkers really like what they've seen from the 22-year-old Reyes.
Acquired from Milwaukee in the Fernando Tatis Jr. trade before the 2028 season, Reyes batted .289 for AAA Memphis with two homers and 22 RBIs.
But it was what he did in a 34-game stretch with the Walkers which really caught their attention.
Called up due to injuries, Reyes batted .289 with five homers and 16 RBIs. He also displayed some solid leather at third base.
So the Walkers have decided to a hand Reyes the third-base job and see if he can own it.

* RP Zach Evers: A Rule-5 draft pick from Quad City, Evers is a hard-throwing right-hander with a lot of upside.

He spent last season in Class A, where he got into 23 games and went 1-0 with 11 saves and a 1.48 ERA.
The Walkers will likely closely monitor his progress, but feel they have a feature closer in the making.
Other notes
* Outfield: With Segura taking over in center field, Alek Thomas will move into right fielder after a season which saw him finish third in the NL batting race with a .320 average.
Andrew Benintendi will be back for his 12th season as the Walkers' left fielder.
Carlos Vidal will move into a reserve role in the corner positions, while Steve Ruland provides strong defense at all three positions.
* Infield: The scout's don't seem to like him, but all the 27-year-old first baseman Cris Rosario did in his rookie season was bat .267 with 44 homers and 119 RBIs.
Sounds like a player worth putting in the clean-up spot for a second second.
All purpose players Thairo Estrada and Vidal Brujan also return providing depth at second base, shortstop and third base.
Estrada may want to start, but the Walkers want to give Reyes a few weeks at third to show what he can do.
* Catchers: For the third straight season, the Walkers will feature Jared Thomas behind the plate with Keegan Fish as his backup.
Thomas, 28, was rewarded with a seven-year contract worth $138 million during the 2028 season and while his numbers dipped he still batted .242 with 23 homers and 77 RBIs.
Fish, 29, has been solid as his backup.

In 2028, the switch-hitter batted .255 with five homers and 19 RBIs while starting 39 games.
* Starting rotation: It all starts with the ace, Angel Tiburico who earned the NL Cy Young award after going 17-4 with a 2.71 ERA. He also struck out 227 batters in 202.2 innings, while posting a 0.81 WHIP.
2, Brendan McKay: The 33-year-old right-handed posted double-digit wins for the seventh straight season going 10-6 with a 3.54 ERA in 29 starts.
He also ranks among the best two or three hitting pitchers in the game.
3, Kaneo Kawamoto: Acquired in a trade with Des Moines which sent Fernando Tatis Jr. to the Harvesters, the 31-year-old lived to his billing as a workhorse going 11-10 with a 4.17 ERA in 32 starts covering 196.1 innings.
He also posted 19 quality starts, which ranked among the top five in the league.
4, Kwon Ju: Mentioned earlier.
5. Ricky Cisneros: After spending the past season and a half working out of the Walkers' bullpen, Cisenros edged out Robby Albarran in a spring training battle for a spot in the starting rotation.
In his five spring starts, Cisneros went 4-1 with a 3.50 ERA.
Cisneros, 24, got into 55 games for St. Louis in 2028, including three starts, during which he was 5-2 with one save and a 4.11 ERA. He also averaged an impressive 11.6 strikeouts per nine innings.
Bullpen
CL -- Ernesoto Barbosa: Signed out of Cuba before the start of the 2028 season, all Barbosa did in 2028 was skip the minors and go out and earn the honor of Natonal League Reliever of the Year.
The 26-year-old right-hander took the mound 45 times, during which he was 7-0 with seven saves and a 1.45 ERA.
Barbosa also averaged 12.9 K's per nine innings.
While he's been labeled the closer -- replacing veteran lefty Jake Brentz -- who gets the final three outs between the two may come down to who is scheduled to bat.
LHP -- Jake Brentz -- The 35-year-old posted a career high 29 saves for the Walkers while helping make the World Series for the second time in three seasons.
Overall, Brentz was 5-3 in 50 games posting a 3.02 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP.
Brentz averaged 12.6 strikeouts per nine innings.
While he may not be the closer by label, expect him to be asked to get the final out on numerous occasions.
LHP -- Jose Alvarado: A free-agent signee before the start of the 2028 season, Alvarado enjoyed perhaps his best season of his career with the Walkers.
The 33-year-old appeared in 62 games, during which he was 3-5 with eight saves and a 1.76 ERA.
His 0.75 WHIP also ranked among the lowest in the league.
RHP -- Travis Krogman: Acquired in a deal with Rockford in December of 2027, the 29-year-old Krogman handled some key innings for St. Louis.
The righty took the mound 58 times, going 7-1 with a 3.50 ERA.
His ability to handle multiple innings, also helped him prove a key value.
RHP -- Cory Tiller:Acqured on New Year's Eve 2027 from Des Moines, Tiller enjoyed a breakout season in 2028 for St. Louis.
He took the mound 53 times, going 4-0 with two saves while posting a 2.31 ERA.
Tiller boasted an impressive 0.95 WHIP and struck out 12.1 batters per nine innings.
LHP -- Zac Lowther: The veteran lefty appeared in 60 games for St. Louis going 6-0 with 1 save and a 2.85 ERA.
He's had his off games, but it seems the bigger the setting the better the 32-year-old pitches.
RHP -- Luis Angel Medina: The right-hander was going through a rough season when his 2028 campaign was ended by shoulder surgery in early August.
Before the injury, Medina had pitched in 44 games going 1-3 with a 4.78 ERA.
LHP -- Nick Lodolo -- The 31-year-old spent the bulk of 2028 with AAA Memphis and struggled in his 12 games with the big club.
In eight games with the Walkers, Lodolo didn't record a decision or save and boasted a 3.12 ERA.
At AAA, Lodolo was 6-2 with four saves and a 3.12 ERA in 53 games.
This will probably be the last shot Lodolo will get from St. Louis to show he can pitch in the majors.
RHP -- Zach Evers: Previously mentioned.