St. Louis Cardinals: Answering Five Questions the Team Will Address Between Now and Opening Day

The St. Louis Cardinals begin Grapefruit League exhibition games Saturday against the Marlins. In the next five weeks, the team will sort out answers to some of the questions regarding positions and roles that, as of now, are undetermined.

The wait is almost over for St. Louis Cardinals fans. The Redbirds will soon be taking the field in sunny Florida for their annual slate of Spring Training games leading up to Opening Day. The week and a half period between report days for players and exhibitions against other clubs is almost over.

The Cardinals have had a fairly smooth beginning to Spring Training, with the exception of losing Alex Reyes for the season. No additional significant injuries have cropped up, and it is imperative that the club stay healthy throughout the Grapefruit League schedule.

Last Spring, the Redbirds lost Jhonny Peralta towards the end of the exhibition schedule to a ligament tear in his left thumb, which sidelined him until July.

Kevin Siegrist was slowed last week due to soreness in his throwing shoulder, but recently threw his first bullpen of the Spring without restrictions.

Nearly every team enters the Spring with position battles and question marks regarding the makeup of their Opening Day roster. Camp surprises emerge, and players earn their chances based on merit displayed on the diamond.

While the Cardinals may not have any surprises wind up on the roster, like Jeremy Hazelbaker and Aledmys Diaz did a year ago, they do have some position battles and key roles to fill.

Spring Training games offer an opportunity for management to take a long, hard look at these questions and hopefully come up with some answers given what they see on the field.