Postcard from Cardinals spring training camp for Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026
Result: Nationals 6, Cardinals 2
Weather: Sunny, 83 degrees
By Rob Rains
JUPITER, Fla. – It was only the first game of spring training, but to Packy Naughton, it was much more than that.
When Naughton came in to pitch the seventh inning for the Cardinals on Saturday, it marked his first time on the mound in a game since July 5, 2024, when he suffered a second elbow injury in less than 15 months.
He needed just 14 pitches to retire the three hitters he faced, two on ground balls, before he threw a called third strike to the final batter. He left the mound with a smile on his face.
“It was a lot of fun,” Naughton said. “There were a lot of emotions that kind of went through it. It was just great to be back out there. It’s been a long time, almost two years. Everything was back to normal. You could finally see there was a light at the end of the tunnel.”
Even after throwing balls on his first two pitches, Naughton allowed himself a moment to appreciate where he was and what he was doing.
“Even after the first pitch it was kind of a sigh of relief,” Naughton said. “Elbow was intact, everything was good to go. All the work I’ve done; it paid off.
“It’s not a regular-season game but you’ve got to start somewhere after taking a hiatus. Just to be out there in competition with the guys behind me, being in a stadium with fans, going to a dugout, it’s different than throwing live BPs on the back fields. It was a good place to start for sure.”
The last time Naughton threw a pitch in the major leagues, before his first injury, was in April 2023.
“I always kind of knew that I would come back, but the question was, ‘Am I going to be the same guy I was when I left?’” Naughton said. “I felt like I was pretty much back to where I was in 2023. There were a lot of question marks, but to go out there and feel the way I did today and get the results, I was pretty happy with it.
“I like to throw on adrenalin, and today was the first day I’ve felt adrenalin in a couple of years … Competing is what I think I was born to do. It was a bright spot on a long journey.”
Manager Oli Marmol was happy to see Naughton’s performance as he competes for a spot in the Cardinals’ bullpen.
“This is one of those where it’s just exciting for me personally to see him back out there and competing and in our dugout,” Marmol said. “When he was with us prior to that injury this guy had the mentality that you want. It was encouraging.”
Here is how Saturday’s game broke down:
High: Matthew Liberatore worked two scoreless innings, striking out four, in his first start of the spring.
Low: Ryan Fernandez walked two, threw a wild pitch and gave up a three-run homer in failing to get through his scheduled inning of work.
At the plate: The Cardinals were held to just three hits, one of which was a home run by Nathan Church off a lefthander. The other hits were a double by Jose Fermin and a single by Nolan Gorman … The team also drew five walks but was hitless in five at-bats with a runner in scoring position.
On the mound: Liberatore was hoping to throw a couple of split-finger fastballs in the game, but the right situation did not come up to try his new pitch … Quinn Mathews allowed two runs, one earned, giving up two hits and walking two in 1 2/3 innings … Prospect Luis Gastelum worked a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout and Skyler Hales, who finished last year at Memphis, struck out the side in his inning of work.
Worth noting: The Cardinals signed free agent infielder Ramon Urias to a one-year contract with a mutual option for 2027. The addition of Urias, 31, fills the Cardinals search for an additional right-handed bat and likely will allow Thomas Saggese and Fermin to get more time in left field, especially if Lars Nootbaar begins the season on the injured list. Fermin started in left on Saturday. “We like this path,” said Chaim Bloom, president of baseball operations. “Some of it is that we are encouraged by the work that those two guys (Saggese and Fermin) have done in the outfield early and believe that the additional versatility is going to be able to be a part of what they can do.” Urias played in the Cardinals’ system at Springfield and Memphis in 2018 and 2019 before he was claimed on waivers by the Orioles in 2020. To make room for Urias, pitcher Zak Kent was designated for assignment. Kent had just been claimed off waivers from Texas last week … The report from Hunter Dobbins’ medical exam this week was encouraging and the Cardinals are determining the next steps in his recovery from last year’s torn ACL … Marmol is expected to follow his lineup arrangement of a year ago in the early spring games, keeping the projected starting infield together for a game and then having the projected starting outfield together in the next game.
Up next: Converted reliever Kyle Leahy is scheduled to start the second game of the spring on Sunday, a road game against the Astros in West Palm Beach.
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