JUPITER, Fla. _ Yairo Munoz should know.
The former Cardinals utility man needs to hear how the news of his abrupt and bizarre departure descended upon his old manager.
We may never know the full story behind Munoz's surprise exit from camp after a hamstring injury on Feb. 29, but attempts to discover more taught us another lesson about Mike Shildt.
It's easy to protect your players when the going is good.
Shildt spent Saturday, the day after his wedding, trying to slow the rush to judge a player who seems to have abandoned his team.
In the grand scheme of things, this Munoz news is minor. A 25-year-old straddling the line between Class AAA and the majors decided to bolt.
The few available details are dramatic, considering Munoz left with nothing more than a brief message from his agent, but even that intrigue will soon fade.
Minutes after president of baseball operations John Mozeliak shared the details of Munoz's unconditional release, a conversation with reporters switched to a variety of other topics.
There was a game to play. Pitch by pitch, inning by inning, baseball always moves on.
Shildt pressed pause.
"One more thing on Munoz," Shildt said as he circled back to a few reporters before the Cardinals beat the Astros 5-1.
Beyond his concern about losing a player he viewed as a valuable bench option, and beyond the internal audit he was performing to determine if he could have kept this from happening, Shildt wanted to be clear that his primary concern was for Munoz's well being.
Shildt and Munoz first wore the same uniform in the spring of 2018. The former was a bench coach who was promoted to manager that season. The latter was a trade acquisition in the move that sent Stephen Piscotty to Oakland.
The strong-armed Munoz arrived that spring with a bag of gloves and a willingness to play wherever and whenever. He played 108 games as a rookie, slashing .276/.350/.413 while playing six different positions. His production and playing time dipped last season. His frustration sometimes boiled over.
"I always love the fact that guys want more," Shildt said. "It's their careers. They want more opportunities. I want them to believe in themselves. You hope they can do it and understand the big picture of what that looks like. It can be a harder thing for a younger player to understand what that looks like."
The Cardinals organization can be a tough one for players on the cusp. Ask guys like Daniel Ponce de Leon and Austin Gomber how it feels to wait for their chance, knowing they would be locked-in starters on most teams. Those who don't wait well can find themselves shipped out. Maybe Munoz just decided to eject himself.
Of his varied talents, waiting quietly with patience was not one. This was the player who introduced the team to his favorite card game, The Big Three, and punctuated those games with a Spanish phrase _ "E que no e" _ that translated loosely to: "I'm the best!" But if that swagger was a turn-off to teammates, the phrase probably would not have appeared on T-shirts worn in the clubhouse. Now Munoz is no longer in the clubhouse, and probably won't be in another team's as a free-agent addition until he answers some hard questions.
"Don't know," said multiple teammates.
One Cardinal reminded that those quick to label Munoz as selfish might not know what he's going through away from the game.
Catcher Yadier Molina said he had not talked to Munoz, but wanted to wish him well.
"He's just kind of gone off the grid," said Shildt.
Many are wondering if Munoz got bad advice. They can't see why an unproven and injured player would leave when he was likely to land on the major league injured list, making major league money.
We know Munoz turned some off by his opinions on playing time. We know some of the Cardinals Munoz was closest with _ Jose Martinez and Marcell Ozuna _ departed this offseason. We know the Cardinals hoped Munoz would play in the Dominican Winter League this offseason, something he declined. And we know Munoz's shot to break camp with the Cardinals varied depending on who answered that question.
Likely bench spots exist for super sub Tommy Edman, backup catcher Matt Wieters, veteran utility man Brad Miller and first baseman Rangel Ravelo. There was a case to send Munoz to Class AAA, where he could log regular reps.
But Miller has battled back issues in camp, and a 26th spot on the roster exists, brand new this year. Munoz was no stranger to fighting his way in. He beat out lefthanded hitting newcomer Drew Robinson last spring, and was making another strong case this spring thanks to a six-for-16 start before he strained the hamstring.
The severity of that injury remains unknown. The Cardinals said Munoz never showed up for his MRI. He told a teammate he was flying home to the Dominican.
"We just decided based on what we're hearing from his agent, maybe cutting ties makes the most sense," Mozeliak said. "He just wasn't happy here, and was frustrated with how he was used last year. Didn't like the writing on the wall that he was seeing this year."
Shildt called the situation "baffling" multiple times. "Miffed," he later added.
For many reasons. He has always been an advocate for Munoz. He saw optimistic writing on the wall.
"We were too early in camp for me to start talking about players with roles," Shildt said. "But I've been thinking about it. For me, this guy was on the inside. I was encouraged more opportunities were going to come Yairo's way this year, because of the extra position player."
"He still had to make the club. But he was playing well, was playing all over the place, was looking good. I wish I had a better explanation for you."
Instead Shildt has a cell phone with phone calls and text messages out to Munoz. They have not been answered.
The Cardinals will be fine.
Their manager just wants to know his former player is.
