photo: Victor Scott (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
With one exhibition game remaining, the 12-15-3 St. Louis Cardinals have set their Opening Day roster. Victor Scott is the starting center fielder. Our history feature revisits notable team events during this week in past years.
Cardinals set Opening Day roster
The St. Louis Cardinals 2025 Opening Day roster was announced on Sunday. The following 26 players will head north, first to Memphis on Monday, then to St. Louis for the first game of the regular season.
Catchers – Pedro Pagés, Iván Herrera.
First Base – Willson Contreras, Alec Burleson and Luken Baker. The three will also see time at designated hitter during the season.
Second Base – Brendan Donovan, Nolan Gorman. Donovan will also play the outfield and other positions in the infield as needed.
Shortstop – Masyn Winn.
Third Base – Nolan Arenado.
Outfield – Lars Nootbaar, Victor Scott II, Jordan Walker, Michael Siani. Scott will be the starter in center, flanked by Nootbaar and Walker
Starting pitchers – Sonny Gray, Miles Mikolas, Erick Fedde, Andre Pallante, Matthew Liberatore. Steven Matz will start the season in the bullpen at long relief but will join the rotation on April 16. At that time, the Cardinals will have a six-man rotation for an undefined period.
Bullpen – Ryan Helsley, Steven Matz, Phil Maton, JoJo Romero, Ryan Fernandez, John King, Kyle Leahy, Chris Roycroft.
Opening Day is Thursday, March 27 at home against the Minnesota Twins. The series will be four games ending on Monday, March 31. Friday is an off day.
For more information:
Spring game recaps
Monday, March 17, 2025 – Cardinals 6 at Nationals 2
The Cardinals defeated the Nationals in West Palm Beach on Monday. Erick Fedde started and pitched five innings, gave up one unearned run on three hits, struck out four and walked one.
John King, Ryan Fernandez, and Kyle Leahy followed Fedde. Fernandez surrendered a run.
The Cardinals scored two runs in the third inning. Jordan Walker doubled, moved to third on a wild pitch, and came home on a sac fly by Iván Herrera. Nolan Gorman walked and crossed the plate on a double by José Fermín.
The Nationals came back with one run in the fifth. The Cardinals answered with four runs in the top of the seventh. Victor Scott II hit a solo home run. Jordan Walker walked and Jose Suarez pinch ran. Leonardo Bernal singled. Nolan Gorman walked. Fermín hit a bases clearing double.
The Nationals scored their final run in the bottom of the seventh.
Fermín was 2-for-5 with four RBI. Scott was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Ryan Vilade was 2-for-4. Fedde made a throwing error.
Tuesday, March 18, 2025 – Cardinals 4, Marlins 4
The Cardinals and Marlins played to a 4-4 tie on Tuesday. This was the Cardinals’ third tie game of the spring. Miles Mikolas was on the mound for St. Louis. The right-hander pitched six innings, gave up three runs on six hits, struck out four and walked two.
Chris Roycroft, JoJo Romero, Zack Weiss, and Luis Gastelum relieved Mikolas. Weiss gave up a run.
The Marlins scored in the top of the first. The Cardinals tied the game in the home third when Lars Nootbaar walked and later came home on a sac fly by Nolan Arenado.
The Marlins went up 3-1 in the fifth before the Cardinals made it 3-2 in the sixth. Willson Contreras doubled. Brendan Donovan singled. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch. Contreras came home on a ground out by Alec Burleson.
The Cardinals took the lead 4-3 in the seventh on back-to-back home runs by Pedro Pagés and José Fermín. The Marlins tied the game in the ninth against Weiss.
Pagés was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Fermín was 2-for-4 with an RBI. JoJo Romero picked a runner off first base.
Wednesday, March 19, 2025 – Cardinals 7, Nationals 1
The Cardinals beat the Nationals by the score of 7-1 at Roger Dean Stadium on Wednesday. Starter Steven Matz pitched six innings, gave up one run on four hits, struck out two and walked one.
Matz was followed on the mound by Ryan Helsley, Edwin Nuñez and Andre Granillo.
St. Louis scored in every inning but the sixth and the eighth. They went up 2-0 in the first. Lars Nootbaar singled and Willson Contreras was hit by a pitch. Nolan Arenado drove in Nootbaar on a single. Contreras crossed the plate on a single by Iván Herrera.
In the second, José Fermín singled and later scored on a single by Contreras to make it 3-0. The Nationals cut the lead to 3-1 in the top of the third.
In the home third, the Cards took a 4-1 lead on a solo home run by Alec Burleson. The score bumped up to 5-1 in the fourth on consecutive singles by Nootbaar, Contreras, and Brendan Donovan that brought Nootbaar home.
A run in the fifth put the Cardinals ahead 6-1 on Victor Scott II’s solo long ball to right center field. The final nail came in the seventh on doubles by Herrera and Nolan Gorman.
Contreras was 2-for-2 with an RBI. Herrera was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Nootbaar was 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
Thursday, March 20, 2025 – Off day
Friday, March 21, 2025 – Cardinals 2 at Mets 3 (split squad)
The Cardinals were edged by the Mets in a split squad game at Clover Park on Friday. Michael McGreevy was on the bump. The right hander pitched five scoreless innings with one hit allowed and four punch outs.
McGreevy was followed by Ryan Fernandez, Nick Anderson, John King and Kyle Leahy. Fernandez surrendered all three Mets runs in the sixth, breaking a scoreless tie.
The Cardinals scored their two runs in the eighth on a home run by Leonardo Bernal.
Pedro Pagés, José Barrero, and Nathan Church each stole a base. José Fermín made two errors.
Friday, March 21, 2025 -Cardinals 3, Astros 5 (split squad)
The Cardinals lost to the Astros in the second split squad game at Roger Dean Stadium. Sonny Gray started and pitched 4 2/3 innings, gave up five runs on seven hits, and fanned five.
The relief corps was Andrew Marrero and Quinn Mathews. Mathews threw four innings of scoreless relief with six strikeouts and two walks. Marrero pitched only 1/3 inning when Gray was taken out in the second and then returned in the third.
The Astros went up 4-0 in the second. The Cardinals got on the board in the bottom of the inning on a solo home run by Victor Scott II.
Houston increased the lead to 5-1 in the fifth. The Cardinals answered in the home half of the fifth with a two-run home run by Ryan Vilade to shrink the lead to 5-3.
Saturday, March 22, 2025 – Cardinals 8 at Marlins 2
The Cardinals beat up on the home team Marlins at Roger Dean on Saturday. Matthew Liberatore started. The left hander pitched four innings, gave up one run on two hits, struck out two and walked two.
Relievers who followed Liberatore were Phil Maton, Ryan Helsley, JoJo Romero, Zane Mills and Luis Gastelum. Gastelum allowed one run.
The Cardinals went up 4-0 in the first inning. Willson Contreras hit a two-run home run. Brendan Donovan singled, Alec Burleson doubled, and both scored on a Jordan Walker single.
The Marlins cut the lead to 4-1 in the fourth. St. Louis made it 6-1 in the sixth. José Fermín doubled. Nolan Arenado and Donovan walked. Fermín scored on a Burleson single. Pinch runner Trey Paige came home on a sac fly by Walker.
In the top of the ninth, the Cardinals added two runs. Bryce Madron and Ryan Campos walked. José Barrero drove in Madron on a double. Campos came home on a sac fly by Tre Richardson.
The Marlins put up their final run in the home ninth.
Michael Siani stole his second base. Fermín was caught stealing.
Sunday, March 23, 2025 – Cardinals 1, Nationals 2
In the final Grapefruit League game on Sunday, the Cardinals fell to the Nationals 2-1. Erick Fedde pitched 4 1/3 innings, gave up one unearned run on five hits, struck out four and walked two.
Ryan Shreve, Max Rajcic and Andrew Marrero relieved Fedde. Rajcic surrendered an unearned run in 3 2/3 frames with five strikeouts.
The Cardinals scored their only run in the third. Masyn Winn walked and stole second base. Iván Herrera walked. Winn came home on a fielder’s choice by Brendan Donovan.
The Nationals tied the score in the fifth and went up 2-1 in the ninth. St. Louis’ defense committed three errors, a missed catch by Winn, and throwing errors by Herrera and Campos.
The Big Picture
The Cardinals ended the week with a record of 3-3-1. Their final Grapefruit League record is 12-15-3. The Cardinals play at the Memphis Redbirds in an exhibition on Monday night and then will prepare for Opening Day on Thursday.
The offense was good over the last seven days. No player had an OPS below .500 for the week. The top performers from the major league roster by OPS were Willson Contreras (1.843), Victor Scott (1.468) and Pedro Pagés (1.194).
The pitching for the week was good for the most part. Sonny Gray had another poor start, though it was not as bad as his previous three. He pitched to a 9.64 ERA in his one start. Erick Fedde performed well, as did Steven Matz and Matthew Liberatore. Liberatore is being given a spot in the rotation to start the season over Michael McGreevy, who was optioned to Memphis. Andre Pallante didn’t pitch. Miles Mikolas’ ERA in his one start was 4.50.
The bullpen was fine except for Ryan Fernandez (21.60), who did not have a good spring.
The Opening Day roster is set out above. The only surprise was the absence of José Fermín, who played well and who seemed on track for a roster spot. Apparently, a change of mind took place. Victor Scott II is on the roster and has been named as the Opening Day center fielder. He performed very well in the spring and his inclusion is not a surprise. Michael Siani, who had a poor spring offensively, is to be the fourth outfielder.
Luken Baker earned a spot, his first time on an Opening Day roster. Relievers Kyle Leahy and Chris Roycroft are also on the opening roster for the first time.
News and Notes
In this space will be information on news and events that do not require extensive coverage. Check back each week to learn what is happening.
- Cardinals Hall of Fame balloting is underway – The annual fan voting for the Cardinals Hall of Fame is now underway, with four players on the Modern Era ballot. They are Steve Carlton, George Hendrick, Brian Jordan, and Edgar Renteria. Voting ends on April 18.
The ballot can be found here.
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
- RHP Nick Anderson was assigned to minor league camp last week and he exercised an “Upward Mobility Clause” in his contract as of Sunday, March 23. This clause requires the Cardinals to make Anderson available to any of the 29 other teams. They have 24 hours to pick him up and place him on their 40-man roster. If a team does so, the Cardinals have 72 hours to place him on their 40-man roster or let him go. If none of that occurs, Anderson can decide to report to Triple-A Memphis or return to free agency.
Transactions
- 3/23 The Cardinals optioned 2B José Fermín to the Memphis Redbirds.
- 3/23 The Cardinals optioned RHP Michael McGreevy to the Memphis Redbirds.
- 3/23 The Cardinals reassigned non-roster infielder Jose Barrero to the Memphis Redbirds.
- 3/24 The Cardinals placed LHP Zack Thompson on the 15-day injured list.
Injury Report
- LHP Drew Rom was shut down from throwing after feeling soreness in his left shoulder after a bullpen session in spring camp. Rom had a PRP injection and is recovering in minor league camp. Rom had season ending shoulder surgery in 2024.
- LHP Zack Thompson suffered a tear in his left lat muscle and is shut down for 3 to 4 weeks.
- CF Michael Siani was scratched from Monday’s game with an illness but has since returned.
- SS Masyn Winn was scratched from Tuesday’s lineup due to right wrist soreness. Winn returned and was in the lineup for Sunday’s final game.
- 2B Nolan Gorman was out of the lineup due to illness but has returned and was in the lineup for Sunday’s game.
Looking Ahead
The Grapefruit League schedule concluded on Sunday. On Monday, the Cardinals play an evening game at their Triple-A affiliate, the Memphis Redbirds.
After leaving Memphis, the Cardinals have two days of travel to St. Louis and preparation before the beginning of the regular season.
Opening Day is at home against the Twins on Thursday, March 27. The Cardinals will 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.
The team remains in St. Louis to face the Angels in a three-game series beginning Monday, March 31. After a Thursday off day, the Cardinals begin their first road trip of the season in Boston. They play the Red Sox for three weekend games, then go to Pittsburgh for three more.
Blast from the Past
This week’s Blast from the Past will look at notable events that occurred during the period from March 17 through 23 in past seasons for the franchise.
The date of the event is followed with a summary of what occurred and any other details worth noting. This will be the final installment of this series.
March 17, 1969 – The Cardinals traded Orlando Cepeda to the Atlanta Braves for Joe Torre.
March 17, 2005 – Former Cardinal Mark McGwire, along with Jose Canseco, Rafael Palmeiro, and Sammy Sosa testified before Congress about steroid use in Major League Baseball. McGwire took considerable criticism for refusing to “talk about the past”.
March 18, 1901 – Cardinals pitcher Cy Young (yes, that Cy Young) left the Cardinals to play for the Boston Americans after the American League was formed and the new league began raiding players from the National League.
March 20, 1917 – Branch Rickey became the President of the St. Louis Cardinals.
March 21, 1975 – Joe “Ducky” Medwick, former Cardinals outfielder and member of the Cardinals Hall of Fame and the Baseball Hall of Fame, passed away of a heart attack at the age of 63. Medwick is buried at the St. Lucas Cemetery in Sunset Hills, a suburb of St. Louis.
March 23, 2000 – The Cardinals acquired CF Jim Edmonds from the Los Angeles Angels for Adam Kennedy and Kent Bottenfield.
March 23, 1938 – Commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis accused the Cardinals of violating working agreements with six minor league teams. As a result, 74 minor league players were released and the owners of the six teams were fined $2,176. Branch Rickey was the Vice President of the Cardinals at the time and this was seen as a direct attack on him and his practices. The Cardinals were in control of multiple teams in the same league which was also a violation of the rules.
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