photo: Guillermo Zuñiga (St. Louis Cardinals)
On the eve of the opening of spring camp, the St. Louis Cardinals traded reliever Guillermo Zuñiga to the Angels to make room for free agent signee Keynan Middleton. Our weekly history feature highlights the team’s 2006 spring training.
News and Notes for the Cardinals offseason
This section features offseason news items each week that do not require extensive coverage.
- The St. Louis Cardinals 2024 spring training begins with pitchers and catchers reporting this week. First workouts for pitchers and catchers is on Wednesday, February 14. Position players will hold their first workout on February 19.
The Cardinals announced their list of non-roster invitees. Twenty-eight players are invited, including 14 pitchers, seven catchers, three infielders, and three outfielders.
- The Cardinals have scrapped their traditional red jerseys (see photo above) for Spring Training and will don their regular white and gray regular season uniforms for the 2024 pre-season.
The move appears to be in anticipation of the unveiling of the Cardinals City Connect jerseys during 2024. MLB guidelines allow teams five types of jerseys, two each for home and road, plus one alternative concept. The Cardinals currently sport the white and cream jerseys for home games and the gray and blue jerseys for the road. The City Connect jerseys, when they arrive, will then be the alternative concept, making the spring training red jerseys no longer a viable option.
- The Cardinals made a move this past week by trading RHP Guillermo Zuñiga to the Los Angeles Angels for cash considerations. The right hander spent most of the 2023 season at Memphis but did pitch in two games for the Cardinals last season. Zuñiga had been designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for free agent signee Keynan Middleton.
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade or acquisition rumors to report.
Transactions
- 2/7 The Cardinals traded RHP Guillermo Zuñiga to the Los Angeles Angels for cash.
Injury Report
- IF/OF Tommy Edman had arthroscopic surgery on his right wrist in October. The surgery was not publicly announced by the Cardinals, and its occurrence was revealed in several reports on January 4. The team and Edman are hopeful that he will be cleared to hit later in camp and be ready to go for the start of the regular season.
- During the Winter Warm-Up, POBO John Mozeliak provided updates on Brendan Donovan and Dylan Carlson, both of whom ended the season on the injured list.
Mozeliak stated that both Donovan (elbow) and Carlson (ankle) are expected to be ready to go for Spring Training.
Looking Ahead
Spring Training begins this week. The first workout for pitchers and catchers is on Wednesday, February 14. Position players follow on February 19. The first spring training games are on February 24 with split squads playing the Marlins at Roger Dean Stadium and playing the Mets in St. Lucie.
The Cardinals Spring Training schedule can be found here.
The last Grapefruit League game will be against the Astros in Palm Beach on March 24. The Cardinals will then travel to Arizona to play the final two spring games against the Cubs on March 25 and 26.
The regular season begins on March 28 with a four-game series against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. They end the road trip in San Diego with a three-game series beginning April 1.
The Cardinals home opener is on April 4 against the Marlins.
Blast from the Past
Spring Training begins this week, so for the next few weeks, Blast from the Past will take a look at some past spring trainings where rosters and stats are available.
The website Baseball Cube has spring training stats going back to 2006. This week’s Blast will start there and select a few random years for the next several weeks. Top players for that squad will be featured as well as notable stats.
The Cardinals spring training facility is located in Jupiter, Florida. They have conducted spring training at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter since 1998. The Cardinals current lease runs through the 2027 season but is expected to be extended to 2047 when the long-running renovation plans are finalized.
The 2006 Spring Training roster consisted of 55 players in total, 30 position players and 25 pitchers. The entire roster can be found here.
Primary position players were Yadier Molina, Albert Pujols, Aaron Miles, David Eckstein, Scott Rolen, So Taguchi, Jim Edmonds, and Juan Encarnacion. Other notable position players were Chris Duncan, Hector Luna, Gary Bennett, John Rodriguez, and Skip Schumaker.
Starting pitchers were Chris Carpenter, Jeff Suppan, Sidney Ponson, Jason Marquis, and Mark Mulder. Notable relief pitchers were Adam Wainwright, Braden Looper, Jason Isringhausen, Randy Flores, Anthony Reyes, Alan Benes, and Brad Thompson.
The Cardinals 2006 Spring Training record was 15-14. The first game of spring training was on March 2. The last spring training game was on April 1.
The top hitters by OPS were: Pujols (1.185), Molina (1.153), Edmonds (1.139), Brian Daubach (1.034), and AAA player Travis Hanson (.958).
Top starters ERA: Carpenter (1.01), Marquis (1.96), and Mulder (2.49).
Top relievers ERA with at least 10 IP: Isringhausen (0.00), Wainwright (0.57), Josh Hancock (1.80), and Benes (2.53).
The Cardinals played seven teams in spring training: New York Mets, New York Yankees, Florida Marlins, Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers, Washington Nationals, and Atlanta Braves.
The Cardinals opened the 2006 regular season on April 3 against the Phillies in Philadelphia. Opening Day at Busch Stadium was on April 10 against the Brewers.
Exclusively for members of The Cardinal Nation
2024 Top St. Louis Cardinals Prospects by Level and MLB Debut
Now Available – 2024 Cardinals Prospect Guide
The Cardinal Nation 2024 Prospect Guide is back for its seventh year. It includes 282 pages of in-depth commentary about more than 60 of the best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including in-depth scouting reports, 2023 recap, extensive draft and international histories and more.
Special half-price off deal for paid subscribers. Order your PDF or printed book copy today.
Not yet a member?
Join The Cardinal Nation for the most comprehensive coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals from the majors through the entire minor league system.
Follow Marilyn Green on Twitter @Marilyncolor.
© 2024 The Cardinal Nation, thecardinalnation.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.