Iona's Former Standout Jason Motte Added to Cardinals' 40-Man Roster 12/11/2007 5:00:00 AM MAAC Sports St. Louis, Mo. - Former Iona College baseball standout Jason Motte has been added to the St. Louis Cardinals' 40-man roster for the upcoming 2008 major league baseball season. The hard-throwing right hander will look to make the major league roster in spring training with a spot in the Cardinals' bullpen.Motte was a 19th-round pick out of Iona in 2003 as a catcher and converted to the mound after former farm director Bruce Manno and then-pitching coordinator Mark Riggins suggested the right-hander ditch catching and turn to pitching. The righty throws in mid-90s and has been enhancing a slider. He served as the AA Springfield Cardinals eighth inning set-up man in Springfield in 2007. From May 28 to Aug. 17, he allowed only three earned runs in 30 appearances and, while allowing only five of 25 inherited runners to score for the entire season."It's so sweet," Motte told the Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader. "When they turned me into a pitcher, I wasn't thinking that, in a year-and-a-half, I was going to do well enough to make the 40-man. I just went out there and worked hard."Motte struggled in the minors in three-plus years as a catcher before converting to a pitcher about 18 months ago. He batted only .190 and drove in 54 runs in 219 games.As a junior at Iona, Motte batted .279 while setting career marks in games played (44), at-bats (154), runs scored (27), home runs (5) and walks (14). He was a Second Team All-MAAC selection in 2002 and 2003. Motte started 115 career games at Iona behind the plate, batting .277 with 11 home runs and 72 RBI.