photo: Miles Mikolas (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
St. Louis Cardinals news from last week includes a 3-1-3 record in spring training games and a Grapefruit League-best 16-7-4 mark overall. Miles Mikolas received a contract extension and Jordan Walker made the team. Our weekly history feature highlights bullpen catcher Kleininger Teran.
Spring Training game recaps
Monday, March 20 – Cardinals 5, Marlins 0
The St. Louis Cardinals blanked the Miami Marlins on Monday at Roger Dean Stadium. Jake Woodford started for the Cardinals. The right hander pitched five scoreless innings, gave up five hits, struck out seven and walked one.
Drew VerHagen, Genesis Cabrera, Jordan Hicks, and Kodi Whitley followed in relief.
The Cardinals offense scored five runs on six hits. Juan Yepez, Dylan Carlson, and Nolan Gorman each drove in a run. Brendan Donovan was 2-for-4. All six hits were singles.
Willson Contreras, Carlson, Gorman, and Jordan Walker each stole a base. Juan Yepez had an outfield assist at second base.
Tuesday, March 21 – Cardinals 4, Nationals 4
The Cardinals played to a 4-4 tie with the Washington Nationals in Jupiter on Tuesday. Starter Jack Flaherty pitched 4 2/3 innings, gave up two runs on nine hits, struck out four and walked one.
Pitching in relief were James Naile, Packy Naughton, Zack Thompson, Andrew Suarez and Ryan Loutos. Naughton surrendered the other two runs.
Juan Yepez and Tres Barrera drove in one each. The only extra base hit was a double by Kramer Robertson. No Cardinal had multiple hits.
The offense was 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left seven on base.
Matt Koperniak had an outfield assist at first base.
Wednesday, March 22 – Cardinals 0 at Marlins 0
For the second day in a row, the Cardinals played to a tie, this time a 0-0 contest with the Marlins. Cardinals starter Jordan Montgomery pitched five scoreless innings, gave up six hits and struck out one.
Montgomery was followed by Ryan Helsley, Jordan Hicks, Andre Pallante, and Drew VerHagen.
The Cardinal offense scattered five hits. The only extra base hit was a double by Alec Burleson, part of his 2-for-4 day. The other three singles came from Willson Contreras, Taylor Motter, and Juan Yepez.
The offense was 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base.
Contreras and Motter each stole a base.
Thursday, March 23 – Cardinals 1, Yankees 1
A third straight game ended in a deadlock, this time with the Yankees at Roger Dean Stadium. Steven Matz took the mound for the Cardinals. The left-hander threw six innings, gave up one run on three hits and struck out five.
Genesis Cabrera, Giovanny Gallegos, and Andrew Suarez relieved.
The Cardinals’ lone run came in the fifth inning on an RBI single by Tommy Edman. Willson Contreras and Tyler O’Neill had the other two hits, both singles.
Edman stole his first base and made the only error, a throwing mistake.
Friday, March 24 – Cardinals 7, Nationals 1
The Cardinals blew past the Nationals in a 7-1 contest in West Palm Beach on Friday. Miles Mikolas made his first post-WBC start. The right hander pitched seven innings, gave up one run on six hits and struck out two.
Zack Thompson and Packy Naughton pitched in scoreless relief.
Alec Burleson was the star of the offensive show, with a solo home run and a double. Nolan Arenado was 2-for-2 with an RBI. Masyn Winn was 2-for-4. Justin Toerner drove in two. Juniel Querecuto, and Andrew Knizner each had an RBI.
Winn, Taylor Motter, and Dylan Carlson each stole a base. Querecuto was caught stealing.
Winn made a throwing error.
Saturday, March 25 – Cardinals 3 at Marlins 2
The Cardinals topped the Marlins in a 3-2 win on Saturday at Roger Dean Stadium. This was a bullpen game, beginning with Genesis Cabrera. The left hander pitched one scoreless inning with one hit and one strikeout.
JoJo Romero and Giovanny Gallegos followed with an inning each. Gallegos gave up a run. Chris Stratton threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Ryan Helsley tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Kyle Leahy allowed a run in 1 2/3 innings. Grant Black and Brycen Mautz combined for the final 1 1/3 innings. Mautz earned the save.
Nolan Arenado drove in two of the Cardinals’ three runs. Victor Scott drove in the third run. There were no extra base hits. The remaining hits came from Nolan Gorman, Tyler O’Neill, Lars Nootbaar, and Jimmy Crooks.
O’Neill was caught stealing. Tommy Edman and Nick Raposo each made a throwing error.
Sunday, March 26 – Cardinals 1 at Astros 24
The Cardinals were walloped by the Astros in a 24-1 blowout in West Palm Beach. Jack Flaherty started and pitched 3 2/3 innings, gave up six runs on four hits, struck out three and walked one.
Flaherty struggled for the first couple of innings but improved in his final 1 2/3 frames. Three of the six runs charged to him came from a grand slam given up by Andrew Marrero, who relieved Flaherty in the fourth inning. Marrero surrendered two runs of his own. Packy Naughton followed and relinquished five runs. Zack Thompson threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Andrew Suarez allowed two runs, Alex Cornwell gave up six runs, Logan Sawyer surrendered three runs. Bryan Pope got the final out of the game.
The Cardinals’ only run was driven in on a single by Kramer Robertson in the second inning. The offense scattered eight other hits. Matt Koperniak was 2-for-4. There were two extra base hits, doubles by Oscar Mercado and Scott Hurst.
Jeremy Rivas made two errors, one throwing and one fielding.
The Big Picture
The Cardinals had a weird week, going 3-1-3 in seven games. Three ties in a row highlighted the period with the only loss the blowout with the Astros. Overall, the Cardinals are 16-7-4 with one game remaining. They are in first place in the Grapefruit League, 1.5 games ahead of the Braves.
The offense continues to score runs, with the exception of two games during the week. As the team goes into the regular season in a few days, the offense appears very much on track. The top performers by OPS of the players who will be on the Opening Day roster are Alec Burleson (1.346), Nolan Arenado (1.200) and Lars Nootbaar (.933).
Pitching appears mostly on track. Miles Mikolas, Jordan Montgomery, Steven Matz, and Jake Woodford all had good springs. The only rotation question mark is Jack Flaherty. Flaherty has not had the best spring, with a 6.41 ERA over his five starts. Adam Wainwright will spend the opening weeks of the season on the Injured List.
The bullpen has been generally stable with perhaps the only question the left side after Zack Thompson, who has not allowed a run all spring. Packy Naughton made the team before a bad outing blew his spring ERA up to 9.00.
Defense and baserunning have been fine for the most part.
The final game of the spring will be played on Monday against the Orioles.
WBC Update
The WBC has concluded. Team Japan defeated Team USA in the final on Tuesday, March 21. All MLB players who participated have now returned to Spring Training. For the Cardinals, they are Adam Wainwright, Miles Mikolas, Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, and Lars Nootbaar.
The WBC will return in the spring of 2026.
Mikolas receives two more years
With only Steven Matz from the 2022 rotation under contract for 2023, the Cardinals need more future depth. This past week, they added a second starter for the longer team by signing Miles Mikolas to a two-year extension covering 2023 and 2024 for a total commitment of $40 million plus awards bonuses.
Mikolas receives a $5 million signing bonus to be paid by July 1 and his 2023 salary grows by $3 million to $18.75 million. He will receive a $16 million salary in both 2024 and 2025.
The awards bonuses are $250,000 for winning a Cy Young Award, $50,000 for an All-Star Game election or selection or winning a Gold Glove Award, $100,000 for League Championship Series MVP and $150,000 for World Series MVP.
2023 is the final year of Mikolas’ prior four-year, $68 million contract. This new deal covers his ages 35 and 36 seasons.
Cardinals announce Opening Day roster
The Opening Day roster for the Cardinals was revealed this weekend. There was one particular surprise in this announcement as the Cardinals will add their number one prospect, Jordan Walker, to the major league roster. Because the roster stood at 40 at the time of the announcement, a roster move will have to be made to officially add Walker before Thursday’s Opening Day game.
Walker, 20, had a very good spring, though his offensive production slowed in the final few days of spring following a shoulder injury. Nevertheless, Walker impressed enough to be given the honor, despite having never played above the Double-A level. Walker will be the youngest Cardinal on an Opening Day roster since Rick Ankiel in 1999.
The full 26-man roster is as follows:
Pitchers (13) – Jack Flaherty, Miles Mikolas, Jordan Montgomery, Steven Matz Jake Woodford, Giovanny Gallegos, Ryan Helsley, Jordan Hicks, Andre Pallante, Chris Stratton, Packy Naughton, Zack Thompson, and Drew VerHagen.
Catchers (2) – Willson Contreras and Andrew Knizner.
Infielders (6) – Paul Goldschmidt, Tommy Edman, Nolan Gorman, Nolan Arenado, Brendan Donovan, and Taylor Motter.
Outfielders (5) – Dylan Carlson, Tyler O’Neill, Lars Nootbaar, Alec Burleson, and Jordan Walker.
Injured list (3) – Adam Wainwright, Paul DeJong, Wilking Rodriguez.
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade and acquisition rumors.
Transactions
- 3/21 The Cardinals optioned LHP Matthew Liberatore to the Memphis Redbirds.
- 3/21 The Cardinals optioned RHP Dakota Hudson to the Memphis Redbirds.
- 3/23 The Cardinals optioned LHP Anthony Misiewicz to the Memphis Redbirds.
- 3/25 The Cardinals optioned LHP Genesis Cabrera to the Memphis Redbirds.
- 3/35 The Cardinals optioned LHP JoJo Romero to the Memphis Redbirds.
- 3/25 The Cardinals optioned 1B Juan Yepez to the Memphis Redbirds.
- 3/25 The Cardinals selected the contract of INF Taylor Motter from the Memphis Redbirds.
Injury Report
- SS Paul DeJong (back pain) remains sidelined. He will start the season on the IL.
- INF Jose Fermin (quad strain) is expected to be out for several weeks. Fermin is a 40-man roster player who will return to play when healthy on the Memphis Redbirds roster.
- RHP Adam Wainwright is out for several weeks with a groin strain. He will not make the Opening Day start and will miss at least the first few weeks of the season. The groin strain happened during a workout on the final day of the WBC.
- RHP Wilking Rodriguez (right shoulder strain) will be on a no-throw plan for the next week and then be reevaluated. The Rule 5 pick will also open the season on the IL.
Looking Ahead
The final full week of Grapefruit League play has concluded. Monday is the final spring game for the Cardinals, against the Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota. Jordan Montgomery is scheduled to start.
The regular season begins on March 30 with the Cardinals taking on the Blue Jays at Busch Stadium. Miles Mikolas will get the Opening Day start. The series continues with games on Saturday and Sunday. Jack Flaherty and Jordan Montgomery are set to pitch in Games 2 and 3.
The homestand continues with a three-game series against the Braves beginning Monday. Jake Woodford and Steven Matz will make the Monday and Tuesday starts. The starter for Wednesday has not been named.
A weekend series in Milwaukee will follow.
Blast from the Past
This week Blast from the Past continues a series showcasing the major league coaching staff of the Cardinals. Each week we present a brief biography of one member of the coaching staff as well as a summary of the member’s playing career if applicable.
This second installment profiles the Cardinals’ bullpen catcher, Kleininger Teran. The bullpen catcher’s primary duties are to help the team’s pitching staff warm-up before and during games.
Kleininger Onassis Teran was born on July 23, 1989, in Maracay, Venezuela. His nickname is “KT”.
In 2006, Teran was signed by the Cardinals as an international free agent at the age of 16. He made his debut with the Cardinals Venezuelan Summer League team that year, playing alternatively at first and third base. The VSL, a Rookie level league, was disbanded by MLB in 2015.
Teran slashed a combined .259/.370/.330 in 485 plate appearances in his first two seasons. From 2008 through 2010, Teran played stateside for the Gulf Coast Cardinals and the Johnson City Cardinals, also Rookie League teams. During those three seasons, Teran hit a combined .297/.368/.378.
His final professional season was 2011 when he played in just three games for the Quad Cities River Bandits of the Midwest League, the Cardinals Low-A club at the time. It was also his only professional game experience behind the plate. According to Milb.com, Teran was placed on the disabled list in June 2011 and spent most of the remainder of the season there.
In 2012, Teran was assigned to the Springfield Cardinals but he did not record any plate appearances and was listed on the disabled list for the majority of the season as he transitioned into coaching. He became eligible for free agency in November 2012, but his playing days were done.
Following his playing career, Teran went into coaching for the Cardinals organization. He was a coach for the Gulf Coast Cardinals from 2012-2014.
Teran became the Cardinals second bullpen catcher in 2015 behind Jamie Pogue, who remains today as assistant major league coach/bullpen coach with Teran serving as the bullpen catcher.
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Walton’s Cardinals Minor League Spring Training Camp Report – March 24, 2023
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