photo: JJ Wetherholt (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The St. Louis Cardinals finished spring training strongly with a 5-1 final week. Non-roster players JJ Wetherholt and Nelson Velazquez appear to have made the team, but other moves are required. Our history section highlights key events this past week in team annals.
Spring Game recaps
Monday, March 16, 2026 – Off
Tuesday, March 17, 2026 – Cardinals 0 at Nationals 1
The St. Louis Cardinals were blanked in a low scoring contest with the Nationals in Palm Beach on Tuesday. Starter Dustin May pitched well but took the loss after going five innings, allowing one run on four hits, walking one and striking out three.
Relief consisted of George Soriano, Justin Bruihl and Scott Blewett all going scoreless.
The Cardinals offense was held to four hits. They were 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.
Victor Scott stole his fifth base of spring. Bruihl picked a runner off first base.
Wednesday, March 18, 2026 – Cardinals 4, Astros 1
The Cardinals defeated the Astros by a 4-1 score at Roger Dean Stadium on Wednesday. Kyle Leahy took the mound first for the Cardinals. The right hander pitched five scoreless innings, allowed three hits, walked one and fanned six.
Following Leahy on the mound were Ryne Stanek, JoJo Romero and Matt Svanson. Stanek allowed the sole Astros run.
St. Louis’ offense scored four runs on six hits. Ramon Mendoza had two RBI.
Nathan Church stole his second base of the spring and had an outfield assist at home plate. Mendoza made a fielding error.
Thursday, March 19, 2026 – Cardinals 5, Nationals 1
The Cardinals beat the Nationals at Roger Dean Stadium by the score of 5-1. Over from minor league camp, Quinn Mathews started and pitched four innings, gave up one run on two hits, walked three and struck out four.
Matthews was followed by Riley O’Brien, Gordon Graceffo, Chris Roycroft, George Soriano and Matt Pushard.
Dakota Harris was 2-for-4 with two RBI. Nelson Velázquez was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Alec Burleson was 2-for-3. Trey Paige had two RBI on a home run. The only other extra base hit was a double by Victor Scott.
Friday, March 20, 2026 – Cardinals 4, Mets 3
The Cardinals edged the Mets by a 4-3 score on Friday at Clover Park. Starter Matthew Liberatore pitched five scoreless innings, allowed one hit, walked one and fanned five.
Friday’s relievers were Justin Bruihl, Scott Blewett, Gerson Moreno, Austin Love and Luis Gastelum. Moreno surrendered all three Mets runs.
Uriás and Herrera each hit a home run. Herrera’s long ball was a two-run shot. JJ Wetherholt drove in the other run.
Nathan Church stole his third base of spring. Jordan Walker was picked off first base.
Saturday, March 21, 2026 – Cardinals 7, Marlins 4
The Cardinals defeated the Marlins at Roger Dean Stadium on Saturday. Minor leaguer Mason Molina started. The left hander pitched 3 2/3 innings, gave up four runs on five hits, walked one and struck out three.
Following Molina were Dominic Picone, Matt Pushard, Packy Naughton, Max Rajcic and Skylar Hales.
Alec Burleson was 2-for-4 with two RBI. Thomas Saggese was 2-for-3 with two RBI. Nelson Velázquez was 2-for-3.
Victor Scott stole his sixth spring base. Saggese was caught stealing.
Sunday, March 22, 2026 – Cardinals 3 at Astros 2
The Cardinals beat the Astros in the final game of Grapefruit League play on Sunday. Michael McGreevy took the mound first for the Cardinals. The right hander pitched five innings, gave up one run on three hits and fanned five.
Relievers were Chris Roycroft, Michael Watson, George Soriano and Luis Gastelum. Roycroft surrendered the second Astros run.
Jordan Walker went 2-for-4 with a solo home run. Jonathan Mejía was also 2-for-4.
Brody Moore, José Fermín and Miguel Hernández each stole a base. Masyn Winn was caught stealing. Roycroft picked a runner off first base.
News and Notes
This section contains information and snippets of news that don’t require extensive coverage but are of interest to Cardinal fans.
- The Cardinals are promoting “Coca-Cola Unlimited” tickets for the upcoming season. These tickets are now on sale and are for seating in Big Mac Land, specifically sections 271 and 272. Tickets include food and drink at a designated “unlimited concession stand”. More information on these tickets can be found here .
- Cardinals all-inclusive tickets, Opening Day tickets, Cardinals Theme tickets, and single game tickets are now on sale. Information on purchasing any of these tickets and more can be found here.
- “Banana Ball” will return to Busch Stadium in 2026. The Savannah Bananas popular entertainment baseball team will come to Busch Stadium on Friday, August 21 and Saturday, August 22 as part of their world tour.
More information about the event and how to get tickets can be found here.
The Big Picture
This is the final Big Picture for spring training. Next week, we move to regular season analysis.
Generally, the pitching has been very good with the offense scoring enough to win most games.
The Cardinals ended the final week of Grapefruit League play on Sunday with a 5-1 record and a final mark of 17-9-2. St. Louis’ .654 winning percentage is second base this spring among Florida-based teams.
There is one more exhibition game on Monday at Hammons Field in Springfield against a mostly Memphis Redbirds roster. There will likely be some intermingling with minor leaguers on both sides. This game will be available for viewing, a change from past such games which were audio only. The game will be broadcast on Cardinals.TV, MILB.TV, Bally Sports Live and Matrix Midwest.
The final roster for Opening Day is still unknown. However, there is clarity as to which pitchers will be on the roster when the team begins the season.
Starting with the bullpen, the team optioned RHP Gordon Graceffo to Memphis on Saturday. Derrick Goold of the Post Dispatch reported on Saturday that three relievers, Chris Roycroft, George Soriano and Matt Pushard have been informed that they have made the opening day roster. These three along with JoJo Romero, Riley O’Brien, Justin Bruihl, Ryne Stanek, and Matt Svanson will make up the eight-man bullpen.
Once Richard Fitts was sent down, the starting pitchers became clear as well. They are Matthew Liberatore, Dustin May, Michael McGreevy, Kyle Leahy and Andre Pallante. Hunter Dobbins will begin the season on the injured list.
The position players on the roster are still to be determined. There are sure things in Masyn Winn, Alec Burleson, Nolan Gorman, Iván Herrera and Pedro Pagés. If the Cardinals are taking three catchers as expected, then also Yohel Pozo. Because Joshua Baez was optioned, we can assume Jordan Walker will be on that list as well. Other likely additions include Victor Scott, Ramón Urías and JJ Wetherholt for a total of 10 players.
That leaves three spots open for Nathan Church, José Fermín, Thomas Saggese, and Nelson Velázquez. One of those four players will not be with St. Louis initially. Fermín is out of minor league options. Velázquez is not on the 40-man roster but has played well enough to make it difficult for the Cardinals not to put him on it. Both Church and Saggese have minor league options and can be easily sent to Memphis. Of the two, Saggese appears to be the most likely to be sent down due to the surplus of infield options vs. outfield options.
An additional consideration is that Wetherholt needs a 40-man spot and if the Cardinals want to put Velázquez on as well, they will have to open two spots. There are no major league players to put on the 60-day IL unless the team is convinced that Lars Nootbaar will take that long to be ready to play. Even if that is the case, one more player (likely a relief pitcher) will have to be removed.
Who will be on the Opening Day roster, and who will be removed from the 40-man roster to complete the initial 26-man group?
Stay tuned as the regular season begins.
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade or acquisition rumors to report.
Transactions
- 3/18: The Cardinals optioned RHP Richard Fitts to the Memphis Redbirds.
- 3/21: The Cardinals optioned RHP Gordon Graceffo to the Memphis Redbirds.
Injury Report
- OF Lars Nootbaar (heel surgery) will continue his rehab at the spring training facility. Nootbaar will begin the season on the injured list. He began his running progression on March 20. No timetable for returning to play has been reported.
- RHP Hunter Dobbins will begin the season on the injured list as he continues to progress from off-season knee surgery. Dobbins is throwing in minor league games but his knee is not yet cleared for full defensive action.
- C Iván Herrera (knee) has returned to the spring training lineup.
Looking Ahead
The final spring training game in Florida was played on Sunday, March 22. The team will leave Florida for Missouri and will play one final exhibition game in Springfield, Missouri on Monday, March 23 at Hammons Field. (The Springfield squad will be made up of mostly the 2026 Memphis Redbirds roster, which also concluded their spring training on Sunday).
St. Louis’ regular season begins on Thursday, March 26, with an opening series with the Tampa Bay Rays. Matthew Liberatore will make the start on Opening Day. The series continues into the weekend, with an off day on Friday.
The homestand will continue on Monday with a three-game series with the Mets that ends on Wednesday, April 1.
The Cardinals head out on their first road trip of the season starting with the Detroit Tigers in a weekend series beginning Friday, April 3. The team ends the road trip in Washington with three against the Nationals.
Blast from the Past
This week’s Blast from the Past is the final installment of spring of the series highlighting notable events that occurred in the history of the franchise for a relevant period.
In this installment, we look at events that occurred during the period March 16 through March 22. For each event, its date, individual(s) involved, a description of the event, and any other relevant details are provided.
March 17, 1981 – Former Cardinal Paul “Daffy” Dean, brother of Dizzy Dean, passed away at the age of 68 in Springdale, Arkansas of a heart attack.
March 17, 1969 – The Cardinals acquired C/1B/3B Joe Torre from the Atlanta Braves for 1B/OF Orlando Cepeda.
March 20, 1917 – Branch Rickey became the President of the Cardinals. Rickey joined the team from the St. Louis Browns.
March 21, 1975 – Former Cardinal LF Joe “Ducky” Medwick passed away at the age of 63 in St. Petersburg, Florida of a heart attack.
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