Cardinals Opening Day roster prediction after new signing and latest roster moves

Bullpen (8) - Ryan Helsley, Ryan Fernandez, JoJo Romero, Phil Maton, John King, Matthew Liberatore, Nick Anderson, Kyle Leahy

Just missed: Riley O'Brien and Chris Roycroft

Now that Maton is a Cardinal and guys like Graceffo and Liberatore have had their roles defined, the bullpen outlook has gotten a lot clearer for St. Louis.

Ryan Helsley, Ryan Fernandez, JoJo Romero, and John King are locks for the bullpen on Opening Day alongside Liberatore and Maton. It's a pretty strong group all things considered, and while it is missing someone who could truly step into that Andrew Kittredge role, it is a group that I believe can approximate a lot of the bullpen's success from 2024.

The other two bullpen spots are where things get interesting. Personally, I think the Cardinals want to at least hold onto Nick Anderson while longer, so I could see them adding him to their 40-man roster when they likely add Zack Thompson to the 60-day IL before the regular season. Anderson has a clause in his contract that he could jump to another club if they offer him an MLB deal and the Cardinals do not, so I believe they'll add him to their roster to at least start the year.

That leaves the eighth and final spot for one of the Cardinals' young relief prospects to grab ahold of. The prime candidates for that role appear to be Chris Roycroft, Riley O'Brien, Roddery Munoz, and Kyle Leahy.

O'Brien has not pitched in a spring training game since February 26th, and while there has been no injury reported at this moment, it's been an odd absence, to say the least. The Cardinals love O'Brien's stuff and believe he can be a leverage arm at some point, but I would guess he starts at Triple-A to begin the year.

Roycroft has been really good in his outings so far in camp, not allowing a single run in six innings of work while striking out five batters. Munoz is someone the club is intrigued by, but I do not think he'll get the nod until later in the regular season.

Leahy seems like the prime option to take the final spot of the bullpen and run with it. When looking at your eighth bullpen spot, you want someone who can be flexible in their role. Leahy has performed well in big spots when they've been given to him, but he can also cover multiple innings if the Cardinals need length from him one game.

Leahy could work his way into a larger role with the club later in the season, but for now, he fits the mold of that final bullpen spot and I believe he'll round out that group.