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.

Victor Scott II

The Victor Scott II hype train is alive and well, and it's definitely not a done deal that he will begin the year in Memphis. But given the Cardinals' patience with prospects and how they viewed him coming into camp, it's much more likely he has a Masyn Winn-like trajectory this year, rather than a Jordan Walker-esc story.

What do I mean by that? Well, coming into camp last year, Walker and Winn were both expected to begin the season in Triple-A. But after a really strong camp from both youngsters, it became clear at the end of camp that Walker would be a part of the Opening Day roster, while it never quite felt like that would happen for Winn.

Now, I do believe Scott is a lot closer to getting the nod than Winn was, but with how Dylan Carlson has looked in recent weeks, I do believe they'll roll with him in center field, one of Brendan Donovan or Alec Burleson in left field, and have Michael Siani be their backup center fielder until Lars Nootbaar and Tommy Edman return.

Scott has looked really impressive on the field thus far, posting a .777 OPS, wrecking havoc on the basepaths, and playing excellent defense in center field. Even so, he still has less than 900 plate appearances in the minor leagues and has yet to spend any time in Triple-A, which I think will ultimately cause the Cardinals to be patient with Scott to begin the year.

With less than a week until Opening Day, we should have our answer on the status of Scott sooner rather than later. The Cardinals have a two-game series in Arizona against the Chicago Cubs to finish off their Spring Training schedule, so I imagine they'll make a decision before they travel to the West Coast for that trip and the opening series in Los Angeles.

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.