photo: Zack Thompson (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The St. Louis Cardinals went 3-4 for the week and are 3-6 in the Grapefruit League. Zack Thompson has joined Drew Rom on the sidelines due to injury. Our history feature investigates key St. Louis news made during this week in team history.
Spring game recaps
Monday, February 24, 2025 – Cardinals 7, Mets 4
At Roger Dean on Monday, the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the New York Mets by the score of 7-4. Steven Matz started and threw two scoreless innings with no hits and one walk. Matz was followed in order by Ryan Helsley, Gordon Graceffo, Kyle Leahy, Nick Anderson, Zack Thompson and Roddery Muñoz.
Helsley gave up two runs in his inning pitched. Graceffo allowed a run in two innings and Anderson surrendered one run in one inning.
Luken Baker hit a three-run home run for three of the Cardinals seven scores. He drove in a fourth run on a sac fly. José Barrero hit a solo home run. Jordan Walker was 2-for-3 with an RBI. The seventh run scored on a wild pitch.
Wilson Contreras was 2-for-3. Matt Koperniak was 2-for-3 with a stolen base.
Tuesday, February 25, 2025 – Cardinals 2 at Blue Jays 3
St. Louis fell to the Blue Jays by one run in Dunedin. Quinn Mathews took the mound for the Cardinals on Tuesday. The lefty prospect pitched two scoreless innings with two hits and a walk allowed and three strikeouts.
Pitchers following Mathews were Cooper Hjerpe, Max Rajcic, Ian Bedell, Bailey Horn, and Michael Gomez. Hjerpe, Rajcic, and Bedell gave up the Blue Jays’ three runs.
Victor Scott II was the star of the day with a 2-for-3 performance with a solo home run and a triple. The center fielder scored both of the Cardinals’ runs. Alec Burleson drove in Scott on a sac fly.
JJ Wetherholt stole a base and Bryan Torres was caught stealing. Catcher Pedro Pagés picked a runner off second base.
Wednesday, February 26, 2025 – Cardinals 0 at Yankees 7
The Cardinals were shut out by the Yankees in Tampa on Wednesday. Starter Michael McGreevy hurled two scoreless innings with no hits and two strikeouts.
The remainder of the day’s pitchers were Tink Hence, Oddanier Mosqueda, Ryan Fernandez, Chris Roycroft, Riley O’Brien, and Ryan Loutos.
Hence gave up six of the Yankees’ seven runs. The final run was allowed by Loutos. Cardinal pitchers hit three batters, twice by Loutos and once by Roycroft. Despite the seven runs allowed, St. Louis’ pitchers issued only one walk. They struck out nine and gave up 10 hits.
The offense was held to three singles, one each by José Fermín, Matt Koperniak, and Michael Siani. The team struck out 12 times in total and no one walked.
Thursday, February 27, 2025 – Cardinals 8, Marlins 4
The Cardinals beat the Marlins 8-4 in Jupiter on Thursday. Andre Pallante made the start and gave up four runs on five hits in one inning pitched.
Zack Weiss replaced Pallante and threw a scoreless inning. Following Weiss were Matthew Liberatore, JoJo Romero, Kyle Leahy, John King, Nick Anderson, and Roddery Muñoz.
The Cardinals scored four runs in the first inning. After the Marlins tied the game in the second, the Cardinals scored one in the bottom frame to retake the lead. A run in the fifth and two more in the seventh made it 8-4.
Nolan Arenado hit a three-run home run in the first inning for the bulk of the first inning runs. He later doubled for a 2-for-2 day. Willson Contreras was also 2-for-2 with an RBI. Lars Nootbaar singled in a first inning run. Pedro Pagés had one RBI and Jeremy Rivas drove in two runs.
Victor Scott II stole two bases. Pagés had a passed ball.
Friday, February 28, 2025 – Cardinals 2 at Astros 3
On Friday, the Cardinals lost a one-run game to the Astros in West Palm Beach. Starter Erick Fedde allowed one run in two innings pitched. He allowed one hit and struck out three.
Following Fedde were Tekoah Roby, Ryan Helsley, Edwin Nuñez, and Bailey Horn. Roby and Nuñez each gave up a run.
The Cardinals offense scored their two runs in the eighth and ninth. Michael Helman drove in Ryan Vilade on a sac fly in the eighth. José Barrero scored in the ninth on a ground out by Bryan Torres. The offense had five hits in total with the only extra base hit a double by César Prieto.
Masyn Winn was caught stealing.
Saturday, March 1, 2025 – Cardinals 3, Nationals 2
On Saturday, the Cardinals edged the Nationals in Jupiter for their third Grapefruit League win. Miles Mikolas was the starter. The right hander gave up two runs on three hits in 2 2/3 innings pitched. He struck out one.
The remaining pitchers in the game were Curtis Taylor, Gordon Graceffo, Ryan Fernandez, Sem Robberse, and Matt Svanson.
St. Louis fell behind 2-0 in the first inning. The offense tied the game with two runs in the fourth and walked it off in the ninth.
Willson Contreras hit a two-run home run in the fourth. With the bases loaded in the ninth, Thomas Saggese’s walk off single ended the game.
Victor Scott stole his third base of spring but was also caught stealing.
Sunday, March 2, 2025 – Cardinals 3 at Marlins 5
As the road team at Jupiter, the Cardinals fell to the Marlins on Sunday by the score of 5-3. Steven Matz started and gave up one run on two hits in three innings. The lefty struck out three and walked two.
JoJo Romero, John King, Andre Granillo, Chris Roycroft, and Cooper Hjerpe followed Matz. King allowed three runs and Hjerpe surrendered one run.
The Cardinals took the initial 1-0 lead in the second inning on a sac fly by Jordan Walker following a Nolan Gorman double and a wild pitch.
The Marlins tied the game in the third, then took the lead 4-1 in the fifth. The Cardinals got back in the game in the seventh on a two-run home run by Luken Baker, his second of the spring.
The offense managed only three hits total. They struck out eight times and drew four walks. The three hits included doubles by Gorman and Lars Nootbaar.
Jeremy Rivas stole his first spring base. Matt Koperniak was picked off and caught stealing. Matz and King each picked a runner off first base.
The Big Picture
The Cardinals are 3-6 in early Grapefruit League action.
After nine games, there are a couple of standouts among the likely 26-man roster group in terms of offense. Victor Scott II and Willson Contreras have hit well (1.775 OPS and 1.635 OPS respectively in four games). Luken Baker, who is on the bubble with respect to making the roster, has a 1.083 OPS in five games. José Barrero has an OPS of .958, though he is not on the 40-man roster.
Projected 26-man roster players who are not performing well offensively in the early going are Masyn Winn (.063), Brendan Donovan (.220), Michael Siani (.237) Nolan Gorman (.258), Iván Herrera (.333), Jordan Walker (.374), and Pedro Pagés (.422). It is too early to make any judgments from these numbers, however. Another week of play will be more telling.
The remaining 26-man roster players are holding their own, neither excelling nor struggling. These players include Lars Nootbaar, Nolan Arenado, and Alec Burleson.
As for pitching, among the likely starters group, only Andre Pallante struggled in his first start of the spring. Sonny Gray has yet to make a start, though he worked in a simulated game and is scheduled to make his formal debut in the coming week. Miles Mikolas, Stephen Matz, and Erick Fedde have pitched well. Michael McGreevy, who is also a potential starter if one of the others goes down or is traded, pitched very well in his one start.
In the bullpen category, Ryan Fernandez has not given up a run or a hit in three appearances. Fernandez is the likely setup replacement for Andrew Kittredge if he continues to pitch well. JoJo Romero and Riley O’Brien also pitched well. Others who are looking good so far include Kyle Leahy, Matthew Liberatore, Roddery Muñoz, and Chris Roycroft. Gordon Graceffo, who is a potential fit for the major league bullpen, has looked good as well.
Ryan Helsley started out with some hiccups, giving up two runs in two innings so far. John King has not looked good. Again, it is too early to make firm judgments.
The second full week of spring games begins Tuesday (Monday is an off day). The Cardinals are set to play the Nationals three times, the Astros twice, and end the week with the second game against the Yankees.
News and Notes for Spring Training
In this space will be information on news and events of spring training that do not require extensive coverage. Check back each week to learn what is happening.
- Cardinals’ Season Tickets are now available – Fans can now purchase season tickets for the upcoming 2025 season. Information at https://www.mlb.com/cardinals/tickets/season-tickets. A telephone number and chat are available.
- Spring Breakout is back – The second annual Spring Breakout games are two weeks away. This prospect showcase features top prospects from each team playing in a spring training game. Cardinals’ prospects will play Marlins prospects on Friday, March 14 at 12:10 pm at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter. The Cardinals team may include prospects Quinn Mathews, Tink Hence, and JJ Wetherholt.
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade or acquisition rumors to report.
Transactions
The Cardinals have cut a total of nine players from camp, including eight on Sunday. They still have 58 in camp.
Injury Report
- LHP Drew Rom was shut down from throwing after feeling soreness in his left shoulder after a bullpen session in spring camp last week. Rom had a PRP injection and will rest before resuming throwing. Rom had season-ending shoulder surgery last season.
- LHP Zack Thompson has suffered a tear in his left lat muscle according to Derrick Goold of the Post Dispatch. Thompson is shut down for 3 to 4 weeks and will then be re-evaluated. It is almost certain that he will begin the season on the injured list.
Looking Ahead
The Grapefruit League game play begins its second full week. The Cardinals are currently 3-6 for the spring.
On Monday, March 3, the Cardinals have an off day. On Tuesday, the Cardinals play the Nationals at the Cacti Stadium in West Palm Beach. They will return there to play the Astros on Wednesday.
St. Louis returns to Jupiter to face the Nationals at Roger Dean Stadium on Thursday. The weekend schedule begins with a Friday game against the Mets at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie.
On Saturday, the Cardinals return to Cacti Park to play the Nationals. The last game of the week is at Roger Dean Stadium against the Yankees on Sunday.
The 2025 Spring Training schedule can be found here.
Opening Day for the Cardinals this year is at home against the Twins on March 27. The Cardinals play a four-game series that ends on Monday, March 31. Friday, March 28 is an off day in case there is a rain out on Thursday.
Blast from the Past
This week’s Blast from the Past will look at some notable events that occurred during the period from February 24 through March 2 in past seasons for the franchise. This series will extend through spring training.
The date of the event will be followed with a summary of what occurred and any other details worth noting.
February 24, 1943 – The Cardinals’ reduced their farm system from 21 teams to seven due to losing so many players to World War II. The next day they placed an ad in the Sporting News looking for players.
February 25, 1972 – The Cardinals make arguably one of their worst trades in the history of the franchise. Because of a salary impasse, the Cardinals traded LHP Steve Carlton to the Phillies for RHP Rick Wise. Though Wise pitched decently for the Cardinals for two seasons, Carlton won four Cy Young Awards with the Phillies and went into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994 as a Philly.
Carlton supposedly learned of the trade from the Cardinals’ traveling secretary. He is currently among four players up for fan vote for the Cardinals Hall of Fame.
February 28, 1989 – Red Schoendienst was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee.
March 1, 1949 – The St. Louis Browns moved to evict the Cardinals from Sportsman’s Park to gain a rent increase. The eviction did not succeed and the Cardinals remained in Sportsman’s Park while the Browns relocated to Baltimore in 1953. New Owner Gussie Busch renamed Sportsman’s Park to Busch Stadium.
March 1, 2012 – Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina signed a five-year, $75 million contract to remain with St. Louis. He played through 2022 before retiring.
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