No matter how early the players begin to report, it’s hard to get excited about baseball or “spring” training in February. There’s just something annoying about watching St. Louis Cardinals players gallivant around in sunny Florida while I’m at home shoveling snow. ESPN’s initial spring training reports get as much air time in my home as a Kanye West album at Taylor Swift’s house. However, the February snow has melted. The Rams are busy planning for relocation the draft. Mizzou and SLU are home going through a different type of March madness. Real spring and finally here which means I’m ready for some baseball.
St. Louisans often take the Cardinals for granted. Season after season, the Redbirds field a high-quality, playoff-bound ball club. The team has reached the playoffs in the past four seasons and boasts playoff appearances in 11 of the past 15 years. Those numbers include four trips to the World Series (two wins, two losses).
The reigning, defending division champ is back in action in Jupiter, Fla. fine tuning and finalizing its 25-man roster before the season kicks off on April 5. Assuming health, a vast majority of the Redbirds’ roster is likely already decided, with a few bench and bullpen roles up for grabs. Here’s a breakdown of which players I believe will still be wearing the birds on bat on Opening Day (starters names are in bold).
Catchers: Yadier Molina, Tony Cruz
Infielders: Matt Adams (1B), Kolten Wong (2B), Jhonny Peralta (SS), Matt Carpenter (3B), Mark Reynolds, Pete Kozma
Outfielders: Jason Heyward (RF), John Jay (CF), Matt Holliday (LF), Randal Grichuk, Peter Bourjos
Starting Pitchers: Adam Wainwright, RHP; Lance Lynn, RHP; John Lackey, RHP; Michael Wacha, RHP; Jaime Garcia, LHP
Bullpen: Randy Choate, Carlos Martinez, Kevin Siegrist, Seth Maness, Jordan Walden, Matt Belisle and Trevor Rosenthal
This lineup is not set in stone, of course. The question marks are Grichuk, Bourjos and Garcia. Grichuk should be a no-brainer. He has plenty of power, speed and has shown himself to be a capable defender. His versatility makes him an ideal player to come off the bench as the fourth outfielder. However, his youth and available options mean there’s always a chance he’ll start the season off in Memphis for the sake of consistent at bats.
Bourjos has the batting average of a blind man. The Cardinals are hoping to see improvement at the plate following hip surgery. The results thus far are less than stellar, but with a $1.65 million contract, he’ll likely make the roster and serve as a late-inning pinch runner and defensive replacement. Unless he finds a way to fix the hole in his bat though, he might not make it through the season.
Garcia’s fate is a big question. Many point to Martinez as an ideal choice to serve as the fifth starter. Marco Gonzales has also gained support after a solid spring. Still, Garcia is owed $9.5 million this season. If salary alone wasn’t enough to win him the spot, Garcia is actually chucking the ball pretty good this spring. Given his injury history, Mo and Co. must assume that he could get hurt any day. It makes sense for the Cards to get all they can out of Garcia while he’s healthy and effective. In the meantime, the team can allow Martinez to refine himself in the bullpen and Gonzales to continue to develop in AAA.
Roster spots aren’t the only thing Cardinals fans are watching closely during Spring Training. Much is expected of newbie Jason Heyward after he was acquired for Shelby Miller during the offseason. The 2014 Golden Glove winner is expected to give the team a huge lift in the outfield. He’s generally considered the best right fielder in the game. Offensively, Heyward had his ups and downs in Atlanta as he struggled with injuries and inconsistency. He’s off to a good start in Jupiter, with a healthy .364 through 10 games. Spring training stats don’t mean much in the grand scheme of things, but for young players like Heyward (he’s still only 24 years old), gaining confidence early can go a long way towards a successful season.
Health appears to be the biggest boogyman for the Cardinals in 2015. Wainwright, the team’s ace, is a year older and started off the spring with an abdominal injury. Molina, the team’s heart and soul suffered thumb and abdominal injuries last season. He’ll need to be at 100% most of the way for the Redbirds to fly high. We know injuries will occur, but it appears the Cardinals are set up well to cover any losses. Reynolds and Grichuk alone can cover most positions between the two of them. If not, expect Mozeliak to work his magic and bring in someone to fill in the void. Either way, we’ve all become accustomed to seeing the Redbirds play in the postseason. For the Cardinals, the more things change, the more they stay the same. See you in the playoffs!
Follow Ishmael and In the Clutch on Twitter @IshmaelSistrunk
