Cardinals Spring Training: Club demotes 13 players from MLB roster as camp winds down

With a little over a week and a half to go until Opening Day, the St. Louis Cardinals are beginning to thin out their roster at big league camp, optioning 13 players to minor league camp on Sunday in the process.

The most notable names to miss out on the Opening Day roster from that group are infielders Thomas Saggese and Michael Helman as well as outfielder Matt Koperniak, all three of whom have been optioned to Memphis. All of them are on the Cardinals' 40-man roster, meaning the club will burn an option year for each of them.

Joining that trio in being reassigned to minor league camp are outfielders Nathan Church and Ryan Vilade; infielders RJ Yeager and Cesar Prieto; catchers Gavin Collins, Yohel Pozo, Wade Stauss, and Chance Sisco; as well as pitchers Andre Granillo and Michael Gomez, all of whom were non-roster invites.

Despite spring training performances with the Cardinals, Thomas Saggese and Matt Koperniak will begin the year in Triple-A

While none of those moves should come as a surprise to anyone who has been following the team, it is still dissapointing nonetheless to see a bat that was as hot as Koperniak's not earn a spot on the Cardinals' Opening Day roster. In 31 spring training at-bats, Koperniak slashed .355/.394/.645 with two home runs, three doubles, and six RBI, building upon what was a strong year in Triple-A for the outfielder last year.

Still, it was hard to find a fit on the roster for Koperniak due to all of the left-handed bats and corner outfield options the Cardinals already have. Should an injury pop up to a member of their outfield group, though, Koperniak likely gets the call.

Saggese was not nearly as hot as Koperniak was in camp, but he did put up solid numbers and would be a right-handed option for the Cardinals infield in 2025. While I could see the Cardinals calling Koperniak up for a bench role this year, the Cardinals seem intent on giving Saggese everyday at-bats, whether that is in Memphis or in St. Louis. If Saggese's role is on the bench in St. Louis, which it would be as things currently stand, then the club won't go in that direction.

I expect both of these bats to play a role for the club this year, but they will have the wait on some roster moves or injuries to happen in order to embrace that challege.

The Cardinals' big league camp roster now sits at 31 members, so the front office and coaching staff will have to send five additional players to minor league camp to finalize their roster. John Mozeliak mentioned this weekend that he hopes to have those final decisions made by next weekend.

As of now, there still seems to be a battle for the starting center field role and the fourth spot on the bench behind Pedro Pages, Alec Burleson, and Luken Baker, as well as who the club's fifth starter is and who the final two right-handed relievers are in their mix. As those decisions are made, roster moves will be made accordingly.