St. Louis Cardinals arrive for Spring Training

The St. Louis Cardinals have begun to arrive in Jupiter, Florida for the 2015 installment of Spring Training.

While the official reporting date for pitchers and catchers is not until February 19, there are nearly 20 players working out in Jupiter. The first full squad workout is expected to happen on February 24.

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Since they live near Roger Dean Stadium, catcher Yadier Molina, outfielder Matt Holliday, and pitcher Kevin Siegrist have been spending their offseason working out in Jupiter. Working out in the nice sunny weather provided in Florida sounds better than spending the time shoveling oneself out of the driveway as many of us were doing on Presidents Day.

“When your best guys do that, it sets the tone for everybody else,” manager Mike Matheny said in an MLB.com article about having so many early arrivals. “If you don’t jump on, you’re going to get left behind. … It shows a passion and love for what you’re doing. It shows a respect for how hard this game is.”

Other pitchers getting a head start before Thursday’s mandatory reporting date include Seth Maness, Michael Wacha, Randy Choate, Tyler Lyons, Nick Greenwood, Mitch Harris, Carlos Martinez, Trevor Rosenthal, Adam Wainwright, and Matt Belisle.

As far as position players are concerned, joining Holliday and Molina in Florida prior to the first full squad workout are Matt Carpenter, Mark Reynolds, Matt Adams, Kolten Wong, and Jason Heyward.

Other notes:
Martinez’s new locker in Spring Training is located right next to Molina’s.

The Cardinals will look to win the National League Central Division in 2015.

"“This is going to be as tough as the division has been since I’ve been around, [which is] pretty hard to imagine, because it’s been really hard,” third baseman Matt Carpenter said. “But the good news is, they’re all sitting on the other side thinking the same thing about us.”[…]"

"“No matter what anyone in the Central is doing, we want to be an October team every year,” Wong said. “You look at the [moves] that have been made by the other teams, and you can’t help but understand this is going to be a really good season for everyone. We’re excited for the challenge. We’re excited to get out there.”"