St. Louis Cardinals: Ideal roster additions out of spring

The St. Louis Cardinals have little time left in spring and this means that several prospects are running out of time to make the opening day roster.

The St. Louis Cardinals will soon depart Spring Training and go to the great white north to play their final exhibition games before kicking off the official start to the season. This means that time is running out for promising prospects to make an impression. Lucky for them, the front office and Mike Matheny are giving them plenty of chances to impress.

With the regulars seemingly in stone, prospects are fighting for spots both in the pitching corp and on the bench. The opening day lineup looks to be set as such:

Dexter Fowler, RF

Tommy Pham, CF

Matt Carpenter, 1B

Marcell Ozuna, LF

Paul DeJong, SS

Yadier Molina, C

Jedd Gyorko, 3B

PITCHER

Kolten Wong, 2B

The actual construction of the lineup order might be different than what is listed above, but the positions seem set. That said, Carpenter- if his back/shoulder health will allow- could appear at third base with Jose Martinez getting the start at first.

While questions do remain about several names above, these seem to be the foregone conclusions at these positions.

As related to pitching, the following seems to be the set rotation breaking camp:

Carlos Martinez

Michael Wacha

Luke Weaver

Adam Wainwright

Miles Mikolas

As with the position players, the actual order of the names above might be different but the names slotted are less likely to change. That comes with one caveat: Jack Flaherty. Flaherty could spell a bump to Mikolas and/or Flaherty could cause the St. Louis Cardinals to push a 6-man rotation.

The information above leaves many names with questions still attached. Let’s take a look at the remaining names and whether they should break camp with the St. Louis Cardinals or not.

The St. Louis Cardinals have toyed with the idea of carrying 13 pitchers and this might be outcome of spring. Either way, names are still battling for spots of any nature.

The St. Louis Cardinals of 2018 can consider themselves pitching rich. This means that many names carry stats worthy of spots. Names such as Jack Flaherty, John Brebbia, Dominique Leone, Bud Norris, Jason Motte, Dakota Hudson, Daniel Poncedeleon, and Edward Mujica are all vying for spots in the pitching corp.

As with the bench roles above, let’s look first the stats and then dive into a discussion of each.

Jack Flaherty

John Brebbia

Bud Norris

Jason Motte

Dakota Hudson

Daniel Poncedeleon

Edward Mujica

I wish there was a nice HTML table of Mujica’s work this spring but there just isn’t. That said, Mujica notched the save today against the Atlanta Braves. For a clip of his performance, click here.

Each name carries some worth that would make them a nice fit for the pitching corp for new pitching coach Mike Maddux, but not all can make it. While the St. Louis Cardinals might consider carrying thirteen pitchers, perhaps the bench is more valuable.

With a pitching corp already in the pen consisting of Brett Cecil, Tyler Lyons, Matthew Bowman, and Luke Gregerson, will any of these find a way onto the squad?

Jack Flaherty should 100 percent make the team. He needs to either be one of the starters or starting the season in the pen as the rotational sixth starter when needed. Either way, the St. Louis Cardinals need this impressive arm on their mound in some way.

John Brebbia is a name that many could consider already on the squad thanks to his performances in 2017 and those individuals would not be wrong. Brebbia is likely already on the St. Louis Cardinals opening day roster. And that’s the way it should be.

Bud Norris is one who should and could find his way departing Spring Training either in the minors or released. While he brought with him protective promise for the starting rotation, the Cardinals quickly moved him to pen duties with even considering him as a potential closer. I wanted to be impressed by him, but simply am not.

Jason Motte was a great story and had all the promise of being the reclamation piece that the St. Louis Cardinals were at one time known for, but that was back in the day of Dave Duncan. Maddux is amazing but I’m not sold yet that he is reclamation Jedi that was Duncan. I look for Motte to serve 2018 with Memphis and likely fill in when needed in the pen.

Dakota Hudson is amazing. Period. That said, I doubt the St. Louis Cardinals are looking to expose him just yet. While he has had a nice spring, it would do him well to serve a bit more time in the minors but don’t count him out. Injuries could pull him quickly onto the I-55 shuttle to St. Louis.

Daniel Poncedeleon, like Motte, carries with him an incredible St. Louis Cardinals story. This was to be the comeback kid and he well could be this. His spring numbers aren’t impressive but him simply appearing on the mound is in light of the life-threatening circumstances of 2017. Look for Poncedeleon to wet his chops in Memphis and to be a name to watch at the trade deadline.

Edward Mujica is an interesting, interesting name. To me, he is the incumbent backup for Gregerson if he falls or is injured. That said, it makes the most sense to see him start the year in Memphis. Should he show the front office that he has the closing chops that he had during his days of St. Louis Cardinals past, then the club can rest a little easier risking with Gregerson.

Here’s my final take on the arms: look for the club to NOT carry 13 pitchers. But, if they do, or if they want to consider any of the names above to break camp with the St. Louis Cardinals, I look for Flaherty and Brebbia to be on the flight from Canada to New York for Opening Day.

The St. Louis Cardinals have had a less-than-hectic Spring Training over years past. That said, the future could carry the excitements of former springs.

The St. Louis Cardinals have many decisions to make as the final two weeks of Spring Training roll around. Should the Cardinals carry extra bench players or should they carry extra arms? The regulars will have a great deal to do with these decisions.

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Looking at the bench roles, the health of Matt Carpenter, the “sophomore” performance of Paul DeJong, and/or whether Tommy Pham proves to repeat his performance from 2017 or if he breaks like glass, these things will weigh heavy in the decisions of who rides the pine or not.

Looking at the arms, the health and performance abilities of Adam Wainwright (the comeback player of the year?), if Miles Mikolas deserves to hold a starting spot or not, and/or if Luke Gregerson is or is not the right choice as closer, these things will weigh heavy in the decisions of who works with Brian Eversgerd in the pen.

Bottom line to me is that Yairo Munoz, Francisco Pena, John Brebbia, and Jack Flaherty need to be on the 2018 St. Louis Cardinals. At the same time, Luke Voit, Carson Kelly, and Bud Norris should probably call another club home. Maybe not right after Spring Training but- my gut tells me- that all three could be elsewhere by August 1.

All of that aside, the St. Louis Cardinals could be a force with which to reckon in the NL-Central through unconventional ways. At the start of spring I would have told you this team was destined for third place at best but it seems that some of these banked-on names might just upset the pot of the Cubs and Brewers enough to make waves.

Next: The new LF experiment

There is still plenty of time for any of this change but as of today, Sunday, March 17, I feel these make the most sense. Ask me next week and I might feel completely different. Outside of that, let’s ride this thing out and see what we’ve got in the coming weeks.