Motte's nine-year run in the majors came to an end in March, when he was released by the Cardinals during spring training. After failing to latch on elsewhere, Motte will stay involved with baseball in Memphis, where he makes his offseason home. The 36-year-old appeared in 444 career games with the Cardinals, Cubs, Rockies and Braves, logging a 3.30 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 60 saves. He led the majors with 42 saves in 2012 as a member of the Cardinals and was a key reliever for St. Louis during its run to the 2011 World Series title.

Unlike most non-roster invitees, Motte can't be reassigned to the minors due to his service time and must instead be given his unconditional release. The veteran reliever is likely to return to the Cardinals' organization once 48 hours have passed and would pitch out of the bullpen for Triple-A Memphis. He could sign a major-league deal somewhere, but with FIPs of 5.68 and 5.44 in the last two seasons and a spring training ERA of 10.13, it's unlikely that one will be offered. He's expected to be happy to start the year in his hometown of Memphis but could be up in the majors later this season when injuries strike the Cardinals' bullpen.

Due to his amount of service time in the big leagues, the Cardinals are required to give Motte a shot at signing a deal with another organization. If he fails to do so, the 35-year-old will be sent to Triple-A Memphis. Motte agreed to a minor-league deal with the team in mid-February after posting a 3.54 ERA and 1.18 WHIP over 46 relief appearances with Atlanta last season.

The veteran reliever had a bounce-back season with the Braves last season, producing a 3.54 ERA in 40.2 innings pitched. His peripherals bring up a lot of red flags, however, as he struck out just six batters per nine frames while allowing 1.3 home runs per nine. Unless something drastically changes, it's unlikely that Motte will do anything to get on the fantasy radar this season.