ST. LOUIS • Unsure how much he'd be able to pitch next season and unable to work out a palatable deal for them, the Cardinals released former All-Star closer Trevor Rosenthal on Monday and made the righthander a free agent, though he'll spend much of the coming year recovering from elbow surgery.

The Cardinals' move came late Monday as part of a fine-tuning of the 40-man roster -- a process that will continue in the coming weeks.

The Cardinals removed shortstop Alex Mejia and catcher Alberto Rosario from the 40-man roster as well as letting loose Rosenthal. The former closer had back-to-back seasons of 40 saves before yielding the ninth inning in 2016 to Seung Hwan Oh. Rosenthal reclaimed the closer's role late in 2017 before the ligament in his right elbow came apart and required reconstructive surgery.

Rosenthal's recovery from Tommy John surgery will go into next season, and when he's able to pitch late in the year he'll be able to sign with any team -- if he doesn't sooner.