6 Cardinals who are fighting for their futures in Spring Training

Alec Burleson is fighting for his future in Spring Training

Burleson got his shot last season when Brendan Donovan was injured. He became the guy to fill in when someone needed a day off or a left-handed pinch hitter. Donovan is healthy and finding his place on the team, which will likely include some time in the outfield. Carpenter's addition to the team throws another wrench in Burleson's plans to stay with the team, as he is a left-handed bat and can play any base position.

Burleson could use this opportunity to show he is worthy of a full-time slot in the lineup or at least a roster spot as a backup. He may be worthy of a full-time opportunity, but not with the Cardinals. Burleson has shown all he can do for the Cardinals. It would be interesting if he could show off enough to be included in a deal to get more starting pitching for the Cardinals.

Andre Pallante is fighting for his future in Spring Training

Pallante was an excellent find for the Cardinals in 2022. He did whatever was asked of him, from starting to relief work. He was slated to work out of the bullpen once he was promoted from AAA Memphis. He mostly struggled, and it wasn't fun to watch.

This offseason he worked with Tread Athletics to develop a sweeper pitch.

This looks sharp and as we get deeper into Spring Training, we should see the full potential of this new pitch in his arsenal.

Pallante was such a good pitcher in the 2022 season. Hopefully, 2023 was just a bad season, and he can bounce back to be an effective late-innings reliever with a devastatingly new sweeper pitch to effectively get batters out.

It's great to see Pallante put in the work to develop a pitch to make him a needed option for the Cardinals bullpen.