The Colorado Rockies acquired reliever Mitchell Boggs from the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday, according to the Cardinals' official Twitter account. The Rockies will send international signing bonus money to St. Louis to complete the deal and will assign Boggs to Double-A Tulsa.
Boggs, 29, was a very effective bullpen arm for St. Louis for three seasons and had his best year as a big-leaguer in 2012, posting a 2.21 ERA while striking out 7.1 batters per nine innings and walking 2.6. However, Boggs struggled to find the plate in 14 2/3 innings of work in 2013, getting lit up to the tune of an 11.05 ERA while walking more than a batter per inning.
The Cardinals demoted Boggs after he allowed a two-run, walk-off home run against the Kansas City Royals on May 30. He has improved little in Triple-A Memphis, posting a 5.70 ERA with nearly as many walks as strikeouts in 23 2/3 innings.
The Rockies will give up their No. 4 international signing slot, which is worth approximately $206,400, per Cardinals beat writer Derrick Goold. Colorado used its other three slots to sign international free agents earlier in the month.
Colorado freed up a spot for Boggs on its 40-man roster by designating Double-A reliever Joe Gardner for assignment.
Gardner came to Colorado in the Ubaldo Jimenez trade in 2011 and showed promise upon entering the organization, posting ERAs of 2.48 and 3.97 with Tulsa in 2011 and 2012. However, in his third year at the level, the 25-year-old righty's ERA ballooned to 7.01 in 25 2/3 innings.