4 frustrating decisions the Cardinals made with their Opening Day roster, 3 fans like

The next time we see the St. Louis Cardinals on the field, they'll be opening up the 2025 season against the Minnesota Twins. Opening Day at Busch Stadium may come with different expectations this year, but baseball is still back, and that's a great thing.

The Cardinals made their Opening Day roster official on Sunday, and while some of the decisions were pleasant surprises, others, well, were not. There was a world where they mostly made choices with that 26-man group that frustrated us, but they did give reasons for optimism that I personally did not think they would actually do.

Let's take a look at 4 frustrating Opening Day roster choices they made and 3 that fans should like.

Frustrating: Michael Siani sneaking onto the roster

Look, I get that manager Oliver Marmol loves Michael Siani and values his defense on the roster, but come on. Once Victor Scott II was named the starting center fielder, it made even less sense to have Siani on the roster.

Sure, he provides value in the late innings as a potential defensive substitute for Jordan Walker, but that is not enough of a reason to make this roster. It also sends the wrong message to young players in this organization who performed during camp while Siani was struggling big time.

Jose Fermin, for example (we'll talk about him more later), hit well in camp and was great in Triple-A last year. Jose Barrero, whom the Cardinals really liked this spring, can play all over the field, is a right-handed bat, and, again, actually showed something in camp to make you want to see him in St. Louis. Oh, and how about Matt Koperniak? His bat is big league-ready, and he just went 4-4 against the Cardinals in their exhibition game with the Memphis Redbirds on Monday.

Scott should play most days, so Lars Nootbaar would be a perfectly adequate option to fill in when needed in center field. That would also help get other young bats in the lineup from time to time. There are far more reasons to fill that 26th-man spot with someone else than force Siani onto the roster.

Siani does not belong on the Cardinals roster. He is someone that needs to earn an opportunity by figuring things out in Memphis.