photo: Nolan Gorman (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
St. Louis Cardinals press release
The St. Louis Cardinals announced today (Wednesday, March 30) that they have re-assigned pitchers James Naile, Zach McAllister and Kyle Ryan, catcher Clint Coulter, infielders Nolan Gorman, Kramer Robertson and Anderson Tejeda, and outfielders Alec Burleson and Conner Capel to minor league camp.
Today’s moves leave the Cardinals Spring Training camp roster at 40 players.
Brian Walton’s take
Heading into an off day, spring cuts are almost always made, giving the affected players time to relocate to minor league camp. So likely these changes were communicated to the players Monday night.
None of the moves are surprising. All nine are expected to open the regular season on the roster of Triple-A Memphis.
With 12 cuts to go for St. Louis, the major decisions appear to be the final reserve position player spot and the last pitcher on the expanded pitching staff to open the season. For the first month, MLB teams are allowed to run with 28 players rather than the regular 26, with the Cardinals expected to carry 15 pitchers initially.
On the position player side, Lars Nootbaar is likely ahead of Juan Yepez and Brendan Donovan for the final spot, though the latter duo are more versatile defensively. Albert Pujols’ arrival took up one reserve place on the projected opening day roster. It appears the Cardinals believe that top prospect Nolan Gorman will benefit most from more time playing daily at Triple-A compared to returning Nootbaar to Memphis, for example.
On the pitching side, the fifth starter’s identity is unclear, but the other rotation candidates will likely make the team as long relievers. Jacob Bosiokovic, Blake Parker and rookie Jake Walsh are among the relief pitchers perhaps on the bubble for that final bullpen spot. Kodi Whitley and Ryan Helsley have minor league options if they don’t make the team.
As noted, camp is now at 40 players, of which 33 are 40-man roster players and seven are non-roster invitees. Because the 40-man roster is full, for an NRI like Bosiokovic or Parker to make the opening day 26, a 40-man move would be required concurrently. All of this assumes Jack Flaherty will open the season on the injured list, a move that has not been made by the team but is certainly coming.
Along with the aforementioned relief duo, the other NRIs still in camp are pitching prospects Matthew Liberatore, Connor Thomas and Andre Pallante, catcher Julio Rodriguez and veteran infielder Cory Spangenberg. All are longshots to make the team out of spring camp.
For more
To see all players remaining in camp by position, check out the always-free Roster Matrix here at The Cardinal Nation.
St. Louis Cardinals Organization Roster Matrix – 2022 Spring Training
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