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The Cardinals have released reliever Jonathan Broxton, as first reported by Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Righty John Gant was promoted in his place.
Broxton, who turns 33 next week, struggled to a 6.89 ERA in just 15.2 innings for St. Louis to begin the season before being cut. He will go on unconditional release waivers before becoming a free agent and having the right to sign with any club for the major-league minimum.
Broxton is earning $3.75 million this season in the second year of a two-year, $7.5 million deal with St. Louis, so the Cards will be on the hook for the remainder of that salary regardless of the righty signs elsewhere.
Broxton is a veteran of 13 major-league seasons with the Dodgers (2005-11), Royals (2012), Reds (2012-14), Brewers (2014-15) and Cardinals (2015-17). He was originally acquired by St. Louis in a deadline deal that sent prospect Malik Collymore to Milwaukee in 2015, posting a 7-6 record and 4.32 ERA in exactly 100 innings for the Cardinals over three years.