St. Louis also signed Eric Fryer and Gabriel Lino to Minor League deals with invites to Major League Spring Training.
Fryer, 31, served as the Cardinals' backup catcher for the first half of the 2016 season, but he was moved out due to a roster squeeze midseason. With the team's decision to release Brayan Pena earlier this month and its desire to start top catching prospect Carson Kelly in Triple-A, another backup was needed. Fryer will enter the season the favorite to win that job. Fryer played in a career-high 60 games last season between St.