Cardinals tip their hand with multiple roster battles after latest roster moves

The St. Louis Cardinals have multiple roster battles going on in spring training, with the catcher position, utility man off the bench, and final bullpen spots being three of those key debates. There are too many names compared to the roster spots, so eventually, some difficult decisions were going to be made.

The Cardinals got a head start on a few of those on Saturday.

After the Cardinals' 3-2 loss to the New York Mets, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that five players fighting for roster spots in camp had been optioned to Triple-A Memphis and minor league camp: RHP Tink Hence, INF Cesar Prieto, UTL Bryan Torres, and catchers Jimmy Crooks and Leonardo Bernal. These subsequent options bring a ton of clarity for 26-man roster decisions going on in camp.

The Cardinals optioned catchers Jimmy Crooks and Leonardo Bernal, among other notable roster moves

Starting with the catchers, while Leonardo Bernal was always expected to begin the year in Memphis, many hope that Jimmy Crooks would get a shot to be on the Opening Day roster, but it appears that the Cardinals are committed to a rotation of Ivan Herrera, Pedro Pages, and Yohel Pozo to begin the year.

This indicates a lot about the catcher position for the Cardinals. First, they seem to believe that Herrera is going to catch a fair amount to begin the 2026 season, and hopefully, he can establish himself as a reliable option defensively as his bat continues to carry him to stardom. And if Herrera truly is a big part of that catching rotation, that would mean the opportunities for Crooks would be slim to at least begin the year in St. Louis, so the Cardinals would rather have him split time with Bernal in Memphis to begin the season.

This makes way more sense that Crooks riding the bench in St. Louis. Crooks, who some view as a top 100 prospect, got a cup of coffee with St. Louis in 2025 but still could use more seasoning. Whether that happened in St. Louis or Memphis was up for debate, but it was always going to be best for him to be playing regularly, and that just did not seem to be feesible to begin the year with St. Louis. If an injury occurs to Pages, Herrera, or possibly Pozo, Crooks is likely headed right to the Cardinals' clubhouse.

In a similar way, few viewed Prieto as a likely candidate for the Opening Day roster, but some held out hope that Torres would get his shot as the Cardinals' 26th man to start the year. Torres had a huge season for Memphis last year, posting a .328/.441/.464 slash line with nine home runs and 26 stolen bases in 104 games. Torres can play all over the infield and outfield, making him an interesting candidate for that final bench spot. Like Crooks though, I think the Cardinals preferred a more regular role for Torres, and they already have a lot of left-handed options on their roster.

Hence, who used to be a top 100 prospect for the Cardinals, seems to be phasing into a new future as a bullpen arm, and while we will likely see Hence debut at some point in 2026 for St. Louis, the Cardinals are going to have him start the year in Memphis to better prepare himself for big league action. For the most part, Hence has been electric on the mound in his career, but he's still yet to throw a pitch at the Triple-A level due to a laundry list of injuries, and the Cardinals clearly believe he needs more work right now. Plus, Oliver Marmol has a bunch of bullpen options at his disposal who do not have any minor league options, so this gives them more flexibility early in the season.