4 deserving Cardinals players who'll be squeezed off the Opening Day roster

I don't put a lot of stock into Spring Training numbers, but each year, there tend to be a few players who do everything they can on the field to earn an Opening Day roster spot, but due to other circumstances, are "squeezed" off the roster. The St. Louis Cardinals have a number of those cases this year.

Most of the time, it's pretty easy to explain why that player will not be starting the year in St. Louis, even if their performance seems to say they should have that opportunity. Often times it has to do with other depth at the position and no clear role being available to them, and other times it can be as simple as the the club believes they need more time to develop in the minor leagues.

This is also the time of year when contracts and player options can play a role as well, as the Cardinals may decide to go with a player who has not performed as well due to some of those limiting factors.

These four players will be squeezed off the Cardinals' Opening Day roster

Pedro Pages

Obviously, the Cardinals are going to go with Willson Contreras and Ivan Herrera as their catchers this year, and rightfully so. Still, Pedro Pages has really impressed in camp so far and should give fans confidence in him as the "next man up" should an injury occur.

Pages is well-regarded for his defensive ability behind the plate and has followed up a strong campaign in Double-A last year with an equally strong performance this spring. Pages slashed .267/.362/.443 with 16 HR and 72 RBI in 117 games for Springfield in 2023 and now has an .825 OPS in his 20 spring at-bats as well.

Again, I don't take much stock in spring stats, but it's been encouraging to see Pages handle his business as the plate thus far in camp, and given that his real strengths are behind the dish, that makes for an encouraging future if he's able to continue to develop in Memphis this year.

The Cardinals are now without Andrew Knizner, so that third catcher role is something they'll really lean on Pages for this year, should they need him. While he never really had a shot of making the Opening Day roster without an injury occurring, the Cardinals should feel pretty good about what they have in him right now.

Jose Fermin

The Cardinals went out and signed former San Francisco Giant Brandon Crawford to be their backup shortstop a few weeks ago, but with how Jose Fermin is playing this camp, I wonder if they would go back and undo that decision.

Crawford won't get much playing time for the Cardinals, but they did want to bring someone in to back up Winn with Edman still being on the mend and their desire to have him focus on center field this year. Had the Cardinals waited to sign a shortstop, Crawford would've been picked up by another club, so they didn't really have time to "wait and see".

Still, Fermin has been really impressive so far, slashing .310/.408/.524 with 2 home runs and 4 RBI in his 42 at-bats. Again, I don't really care about the camp stats, but when it comes to a backup shortstop role, Fermin has done a lot to prove he should get a shot in that role, but I doubt he will do so anytime soon.

Should Crawford really struggle during the year, the Cardinals could decide to cut bait and look to Fermin instead, but for now, he's likely going to remain in Memphis for most of the year. Fermin did get a small sample size in St. Louis in 2023 to grab their attention but only mustered a .594 OPS in those 51 at-bats.

Fermin is just 24 years old, so perhaps he's taking the necessary steps forward to earn a backup role in the future. For now, even with his impressive camp, he'll be left off that Opening Day roster.

Kyle Leahy

The Cardinals entered camp with a ton of arms fighting for a spot in their bullpen mix. A number of those names have taken their opportunities and ran with them, including Kyle Leahy, who no one has really given much of a chance to make the roster this year.

In his 3 appearances with St. Louis in 2023, Leahy was overmatched, posting a 21.60 ERA and 5.40 WHIP while only completing 1.2 innings of work. Leahy ended up being a non-roster invite to camp this year and has done about as much as you can ask from him to turn things around when he's been on the mound.

In 7 games, Leahy has a 1.50 ERA, grabbing five strikeouts in his six innings of work and looking way more comfortable on the mound. If the bullpen competition was murkier at the moment, Leahy may have been able to sneak his way on as the eighth man in that group, but will likely instead begin the year in Triple-A, hoping to earn a shot again at a later point.

For the Cardinals, the fact that they've been able to overhaul their bullpen depth in such a way that Leahy is an afterthought at the moment is really important for the success of this group. I don't mean that as a shot at Leahy, but more so that even a strong spring from someone like him does not move him very high in the pecking order. Should injuries or poor performances occur with their Opening Day group, they have a plethora of options in Memphis and even Springfield that they can look to for reinforcements.

For now, Leahy is on the outside looking in, but if he can carry this momentum in Memphis this year, he may get a second chance in St. Louis before we know it.