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Scott Linebrink has secured the last spot in the St. Louis Cardinals bullpen. The right hander was signed to a minor-league deal with the Cardinals in February and was added to the 40-man roster today.
Linebrink, 35, pitched for the Atlanta Braves last year, posting a 3.64 ERA and 2.00 K/BB ratio in 54.1 innings. Linebrink has been a reliable reliever over his 12 year career, only once pitching less than 56 innings since 2002 and averaging 73 innings pitched per season for his career. He's also struck out at least 7.0 batters per nine innings ever season for the past four years.
The Cardinals won the 2011 World Series in large put due to their strong bullpen. A bullpen spot opened up after Lance Lynn was asked to step into the rotation spot vacated due to Chris Carpenter's neck injury. Linebrink will join Fernando Salas, Kyle McClellan, Mitchell Boggs and closer Jason Motte as the righties out of the bullpen. Marc Rzepczynski and J.C. Romero will serve as the club's two lefties.