The St. Louis Cardinals are seemingly in a rebuild after trading away multiple stars this offseason, and one of their minor league players retired on Friday.
Third baseman Jacob Buchberger retired on Friday, according to his MLB transaction log. He tore his triceps tendon in the sixth game of the Double-A season on April 12.
Buchberger had been working out in hopes of returning, but he has opted to retire. He signed a minor league contract with the Cardinals in 2020 after going undrafted.
In his first minor league season, he had a .275/.353/.384 slash line and reached High-A. The following year, he reached Double-A and slashed .267/.352/.399. He had spent the last three seasons with Double-A Springfield, looking to make the next step toward the big leagues.
Buchberger has experience playing third base, second base, first base and in the outfield. Although he spent most of 2024 at third base, this season he was moved to the outfield.
He played in 232 Double-A games since the start of the 2023 season. He was off to a stellar start last season, slashing .300/.417/.500 in six games. However, his injury derailed a strong start. He was playing well, but unfortunately, his season was cut short. He spoke on the injury before the season ended.
“That’s what disappoints me the most,” Buchberger told the Springfield Daily Citizen’s Lyndal Scranton in August. “In years past, I haven’t really gotten off to that good a start,” Buchberger said. “I had gotten off to a good start in ’22 in Peoria. This year, I felt really good at the plate. Comfortable and confident. I was getting more comfortable in left field.”
What’s next for the 28-year-old? In August, Buchberger told the Springfield Daily Citizen that he may consider a career in coaching, but it was not his primary focus at the time.
“I think right now it’s just focusing on rehab,” Buchberger said in August. “Whenever the time comes — and it comes for everybody — then I’ll figure it out then. With baseball being my primary background, I think I would go into coaching, whether that’s in a summer league or with a different facility where I’m from in Michigan.”
Now that he has retired, Buchberger can look to start a career in coaching. He spent five seasons in the Cardinals organization, hitting 39 home runs and posting a .735 OPS.
