photo: Jake Woodford (Steve Mitchell/Imagn)
Updates: On February 11, infielder Ramon Urias left the Cardinals after being acquired off waivers by Baltimore. His spot on the 40-man roster was taken by waiver claim pitcher Ricardo Sanchez, with the latter taking the prior’s no. 64.
The next day, free agent infielder Brad Miller was signed by St. Louis and given previously-unassigned no. 15. His addition brought the total count of player in camp up to 73.
With 99 possible numbers to place on uniforms for the St. Louis Cardinals, it is once again time to review who is who as spring training camp 2020 rapidly approaches.
In our annual dive into the spring training number assignments for Cardinals players and coaches, I will provide two views. The first is a straight 1-99 take. The second will be a more detailed breakdown, including changes from spring 2019.
As one will see below, every number from 1 through 99 is currently spoken for, with the exception of just six numbers. Three remain out of commission in unofficial retired status – nos. 5, 57 and 69 – with three others – nos. 3, 15 and 23 – unassigned.
In fact, the crunch is so acute, two different catchers share no. 98 and two other backstops will both wear no. 99.
| # | Roster Spring 2020 | # | |
| 1 | Ozzie Smith (retired) | 51 | Willie McGee |
| 2 | Red Schoendienst (retired) | 52 | Alvaro Seijas |
| 3 | 53 | John Gant | |
| 4 | Yadier Molina | 54 | Jeff Albert |
| 5 | Albert Pujols (since 2011) | 55 | Max Schrock |
| 6 | Stan Musial (retired) | 56 | Ryan Helsley |
| 7 | Andrew Knizner | 57 | Darryl Kile (since 2002) |
| 8 | Mike Shildt | 58 | Jobel Jimenez |
| 9 | Enos Slaughter (retired) | 59 | Evan Kruczynski |
| 10 | Tony La Russa (retired) | 60 | John Brebbia |
| 11 | Paul DeJong | 61 | Seth Elledge |
| 12 | Jordan Hicks | 62 | Daniel Ponce de Leon |
| 13 | Matt Carpenter | 63 | Edmundo Sosa |
| 14 | Ken Boyer (retired) | 64 | Ricardo Sánchez |
| 15 | Brad Miller | 65 | Giovanny Gallegos |
| 16 | Kolten Wong | 66 | Matthew Liberatore |
| 17 | Dizzy Dean (retired) | 67 | Rob Kaminsky |
| 18 | Carlos Martinez | 68 | Dylan Carlson |
| 19 | Tommy Edman | 69 | |
| 20 | Lou Brock (retired) | 70 | Jose Godoy |
| 21 | Andrew Miller | 71 | Julio Rodriguez |
| 22 | Jack Flaherty | 72 | Bryan Eversgerd |
| 23 | 73 | Akeem Bostick | |
| 24 | Whitey Herzog (retired) | 74 | Nabil Crismatt |
| 25 | Dexter Fowler | 75 | Ron “Pop” Warner |
| 26 | Justin Williams | 76 | Kleininger Teran |
| 27 | Brett Cecil | 77 | Roel Ramirez |
| 28 | Oscar Hernandez | 78 | Ramon Santos |
| 29 | Alex Reyes | 79 | Luken Baker |
| 30 | Tyler Webb | 80 | Zack Thompson |
| 31 | Mike Maddux | 81 | Nolan Gorman |
| 32 | Matt Wieters | 82 | Stubby Clapp |
| 33 | Kwang-Hyun Kim | 83 | John Nogowski |
| 34 | Yairo Muñoz | 84 | Evan Mendoza |
| 35 | Lane Thomas | 85 | August Busch (retired) |
| 36 | Austin Gomber | 86 | Jesus Cruz |
| 37 | Oliver Marmol | 87 | Johan Oviedo |
| 38 | Austin Dean | 88 | Tommy Parsons |
| 39 | Miles Mikolas | 89 | Angel Rondon |
| 40 | Jake Woodford | 90 | Kodi Whitley |
| 41 | Tyler O’Neill | 91 | Bryan Dobzanski |
| 42 | Sutter/Robinson (retired) | 92 | Genesis Cabrera |
| 43 | Dakota Hudson | 93 | Alex FaGalde |
| 44 | Junior Fernandez | 94 | Jamie Pogue |
| 45 | Bob Gibson (retired) | 95 | Griffin Roberts |
| 46 | Paul Goldschmidt | 96 | Carlos Soto |
| 47 | Rangel Ravelo | 97 | Ivan Herrera |
| 48 | Harrison Bader | 98 | Alexis Wilson |
| 49 | Elehuris Montero | 98 | Aaron Antonini |
| 50 | Adam Wainwright | 99 | Dennis Ortega |
| 99 | Pedro Pages |
Next is a view by grouping. In every case, I list the individual’s spring number as well as who wore it last spring, as applicable.
On the left are the 32 non-roster invitees. To the right are the 40-man roster players. They are listed alphabetically within position groupings.
| Non-Roster Invitees (32) | 40-Man Roster (40) | |||||
| Pitchers (17) | Pitchers (21) | |||||
| # | 2019 | 2020 | # | 2019 | 2020 | |
| 73 | Hunter Cervenka | Akeem Bostick | 60 | John Brebbia | John Brebbia | |
| 74 | Ryan Meisinger | Nabil Crismatt | 92 | Seth Elledge | Genesis Cabrera | |
| 86 | Jeremy Martinez | Jesus Cruz | 27 | Brett Cecil | Brett Cecil | |
| 91 | Dylan Carlson | Bryan Dobzanski | 44 | Luke Gregerson | Junior Fernandez | |
| 61 | Genesis Cabrera | Seth Elledge | 22 | Jack Flaherty | Jack Flaherty | |
| 93 | Connor Jones | Alex FaGalde | 65 | Giovanny Gallegos | Giovanny Gallegos | |
| 67 | Justin Williams | Rob Kaminsky | 53 | John Gant | John Gant | |
| 59 | Mike Mayers | Evan Kruczynski | 36 | Austin Gomber | Austin Gomber | |
| 66 | Lane Thomas | Matthew Liberatore | 56 | Ryan Helsley | Ryan Helsley | |
| 87 | Dennis Ortega | Johan Oviedo | 12 | Paul DeJong | Jordan Hicks | |
| 88 | Jose Godoy | Tommy Parsons | 43 | Dakota Hudson | Dakota Hudson | |
| 77 | Mike Hauschild | Roel Ramirez | 33 | Drew Robinson | Kwang-Hyun Kim | |
| 95 | Evan Kruczynski | Griffin Roberts | 18 | Carlos Martinez | Carlos Martinez | |
| 89 | Brian O’Keefe | Angel Rondon | 39 | Miles Mikolas | Miles Mikolas | |
| 78 | Joe Hudson | Ramon Santos | 21 | Andrew Miller | Andrew Miller | |
| 80 | Jake Woodford | Zack Thompson | 62 | Daniel Ponce de Leon | Daniel Ponce de Leon | |
| 90 | Julio Rodriguez | Kodi Whitley | 29 | Alex Reyes | Alex Reyes | |
| 52 | Michael Wacha | Alvaro Seijas | ||||
| 50 | Adam Wainwright | Adam Wainwright | ||||
| 30 | Tyler Webb | Tyler Webb | ||||
| 40 | Chasen Shreve | Jake Woodford | ||||
| 64 | Ramon Urias | Ricardo Sánchez | ||||
| Catchers (9) | Catchers (3) | |||||
| # | 2019 | 2020 | # | 2019 | 2020 | |
| 98 | open | Aaron Antonini | 7 | open | Andrew Knizner | |
| 70 | Chris Beck | Jose Godoy | 4 | Yadier Molina | Yadier Molina | |
| 28 | Adolis Garcia | Oscar Hernandez | 32 | Matt Wieters | Matt Wieters | |
| 97 | open | Ivan Herrera | ||||
| 99 | open | Dennis Ortega | ||||
| 99 | open | Pedro Pages | ||||
| 71 | Williams Perez | Julio Rodriguez | ||||
| 96 | Andrew Morales | Carlos Soto Jr. | ||||
| 98 | open | Alexis Wilson | ||||
| Infielders (5) | Infielders (10) | |||||
| # | 2019 | 2020 | # | 2019 | 2020 | |
| 79 | Max Schrock | Luken Baker | 13 | Matt Carpenter | Matt Carpenter | |
| 81 | Rangel Ravelo | Nolan Gorman | 11 | Stubby Clapp | Paul DeJong | |
| 84 | Andrew Knizner | Evan Mendoza | 19 | open | Tommy Edman | |
| 83 | Randy Arozarena | John Nogowski | 46 | Paul Goldschmidt | Paul Goldschmidt | |
| 55 | Dominic Leone | Max Schrock | 49 | Jordan Hicks | Elehuris Montero | |
| 34 | Yairo Munoz | Yairo Munoz | ||||
| 47 | Francisco Pena | Rangel Ravelo | ||||
| 63 | Edmundo Sosa | Edmundo Sosa | ||||
| 15 | open | Brad Miller | ||||
| 16 | Kolten Wong | Kolten Wong | ||||
| Outfielders (1) | Outfielders (6) | |||||
| # | 2019 | 2020 | # | 2019 | 2020 | |
| 68 | Tommy Layne | Dylan Carlson | 48 | Harrison Bader | Harrison Bader | |
| 38 | Jose Martinez | Austin Dean | ||||
| 25 | Dexter Fowler | Dexter Fowler | ||||
| 41 | Tyler O’Neill | Tyler O’Neill | ||||
| 35 | open | Lane Thomas | ||||
| 26 | open | Justin Williams |
Note the significant change from year to year. Only 26 of the 72 players invited to 2020 spring camp were in the 2019 camp wearing the same number. Of course, some of the others are back, but with different digits assigned.
Following are the coaches, and next to them, the retired numbers of which everyone is familiar from the outfield wall at Busch Stadium.
Going clockwise, next are the numbers that appear to be unofficially out of service to honor former team greats and the three most likely to be re-used next when needed.
| Coaches (11) | # | Retired (12) | |||
| # | 2019 | 2020 | 1 | Ozzie Smith | |
| 54 | Jeff Albert | Jeff Albert | 2 | Red Schoendienst | |
| 82 | Tommy Edman | Stubby Clapp | 6 | Stan Musial | |
| 72 | Bryan Eversgerd | Bryan Eversgerd | 9 | Enos Slaughter | |
| 58 | Mark Budaska | Jobel Jimenez | 10 | Tony La Russa | |
| 31 | Mike Maddux | Mike Maddux | 14 | Ken Boyer | |
| 37 | Oliver Marmol | Oliver Marmol | 17 | Dizzy Dean | |
| 51 | Willie McGee | Willie McGee | 20 | Lou Brock | |
| 94 | Jamie Pogue | Jamie Pogue | 24 | Whitey Herzog | |
| 8 | Mike Shildt | Mike Shildt | 42 | Bruce Sutter/Jackie Robinson | |
| 76 | Kleininger Teran | Kleininger Teran | 45 | Bob Gibson | |
| 75 | Ron “Pop” Warner | Ron “Pop” Warner | 85 | August Busch | |
| Available (2) | # | Unofficially out of service (3) | |||
| # | (last worn/year) | 5 | Albert Pujols (since 2011) | ||
| 3 | Jedd Gyorko (2019) | 57 | Darryl Kile (since 2002) | ||
| 69 | |||||
| 23 | Marcell Ozuna (2019) |
Notable changes
Of the major leaguers who left the Cardinals, the numbers of Jedd Gyorko (no. 3) and Marcell Ozuna (no. 23) remain open. Paul DeJong returned to his old no. 11, which required first base coach Stubby Clapp to shift – to 82. Jordan Hicks snapped up DeJong’s former no. 12.
Randal Grichuk’s former number 15 most noticeably remains unassigned, as it was last spring. However, when Matt Adams returned mid-season in 2018, he took the no. 15. Despite the fact it has been worn by a number of others since, some Cardinals fans will always think of it as Jim Edmonds’. (Update: 15 was assigned to Brad Miller when the free agent infielder signed on February 12.)
I suspect there is a story behind 40-man roster pitcher Genesis Cabrera moving from no. 61 to no. 92. Oddly, he swapped with reliever Seth Elledge, who wore no. 92 in 2019 camp and now has no. 61.
New 40-man arrivals Kwang-Hyun Kim (no. 33) and Austin Dean (no. 38) take veteran-like lower numbers. Same for minor league free agent catcher Oscar Hernandez (no. 28).
For more
The Roster Matrix and the St. Louis Cardinals roster here at The Cardinal Nation are fully up to date. The former indicates all players invited to Major League spring training camp, 40-man roster players and non-roster invitees, but uniform numbers are not designated on the Matrix.
Our St. Louis roster here at TCN does include uniform numbers, with players listed based on a 25-man roster view. All players remain on their official year-ending 2019 teams until they have a firm assignment to open 2020. All nine minor league affiliates’ rosters are kept up to date, as well. The Matrix and all rosters can always be accessed from the menu on the far left column.
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