St. Louis Cardinals Set 25-Man Roster

This was a big day in St. Louis Cardinals spring camp, as manager Mike Matheny and the top brass finalized the 25-man roster that would head to Chicago for the opening series with the Cubs.

There weren’t too many surprises on the roster, as Randal Grichuk earned his way on with a decent spring and promise of a little power and average to bolster the infield lineup.

Here is a look at the roster, position by position:

Starting staff: Adam Wainwright, Michael Wacha, Lance Lynn, John Lackey and Carlos Martinez. These are all right-handed pitchers, but it’s a formula that has worked so why tinker with it now? Martinez, of course, takes the place of Jaime Garcia.

Relievers: Trevor Rosenthal, Jordan Walden, Matt Belisle, Seth Maness, Carlos Villanueva, Randy Choate and Kevin Siegrist. The addition of Walden from the Atlanta Braves should make things interesting, and Rosenthal as closer should be a reassuring sign that all is right with the pen.

Catchers: Yadier Molina and Tony Cruz. Again, no surprise here.

Infielders: Matt Adams, Kolten Wong, Jhonny Peralta, Matt Carpenter, Mark Reynolds, Pete Kozma. Reynolds will anchor corner positions on days off for the regulars, and Kozma will help all around the infield.

Outfielders: Matt Holliday, Jon Jay, Jason Heyward, Peter Bourjos and Randal Grichuk. Grichuk could squeeze either Jay or Bourjos in terms of playing time, but it’s always better to have an embarrassment of riches than be paltry at one spot.