By Rob Rains
JUPITER, Fla. – Ten thoughts and observations after the Cardinals’ first 10 games this spring, with the caveat that a lot can still change in the three weeks left in Florida before opening day:
1. One of the early themes in the camp has been playing the game of “Who’s in left field today?” Through the 10 games, five players have started there, with Jose Fermin the only one to get three starts. Interesting to note is that Nathan Church has not been one of the five. Church has started five games, four in center and once in right field.
The Cardinals need somebody to fill the position until Lars Nootbaar is ready to play and so far there has been no indication of whether that will be a month into the season, two months into the season or whenever.
All of the candidates offer a different skill set.
“My goal is to get the guy that gives us the best chance,” said manager Oli Marmol.
Ideally, to add balance to the lineup, the spot will go to a righthanded hitter. That would mean Thomas Saggese, Fermin or Nelson Velazquez, a non-roster contender who hit 11 homers last season between two stops in Triple A but has 31 career major-league homers on his resume.
But will simply being a right-handed hitter be enough of an advantage to give one of those three players the job over left-handed hitters Church or Bryan Torres? Another factor to consider in Fermin’s case is that he is out of options.
Who starts in left field on opening day likely will remain a question up until the March 26 game at Busch Stadium.
2. The other position battle that is being closely watched so far this spring is behind the plate, where the Cardinals really hope that Ivan Herrera can catch and throw well enough to at least split the games with Pedro Pages and not have to be a full-time DH.
Herrera has caught three innings so far this spring, with no attempted steals, so the answer about whether or not he can catch really isn’t known.
Yohel Pozo, the backup to Pages last year, has also been getting starts at first base as the Cardinals try to identify a righthanded hitting backup to Alec Burleson. It will not be a surprise if the team carries three catchers, with Herrera also getting starts as the DH and Pozo available to play first.
That still leaves another question, however. What happens to Jimmy Crooks? It doesn’t seem like he would have much left to prove at Triple A and the Cardinals plan is to have one of their top prospects, Leonardo Bernal, as the primary catcher in Memphis to start the season.
3. There is no hiding from the fact that how well the Cardinals hit or don’t hit this season could come down to the individual performances of Nolan Gorman and Jordan Walker, the same as it has been the last two years.
It isn’t fair to use a very small sample size – six games for Gorman and five for Walker – to try to predict how well they will do. Playing every other day, getting two or at the most three at-bats, in late February and the first two days of March is not a fair evaluation. What happens the rest of the spring may start to provide an answer of what to expect not only from Gorman and Walker but also from the rest of the position players.
4. Beginning the season with a six-man rotation seems to be the direction the Cardinals are heading. With a couple of starters coming off injuries and another switching from the bullpen to a starting role, controlling innings, especially early in the season, would make sense. It worked well with Steven Matz a year ago in the reliever/starter role, and a couple of pitchers who could do that on this staff would seem to be Kyle Leahy and Andre Pallante.
Matthew Liberaore, with just 53 starts in his major-league career, appears ready to become the Cardinals’ number one starter at the age of 26. Free agent acquisition Dustin May likely will challenge for that spot the rest of the spring but he has yet to start in a game, appearing only in a simulated game on a back field. May will start for the first time on Thursday.
Liberatore, meanwhile, has allowed one run in five innings in his first two starts with one walk and seven strikeouts. He is set to start again on Wednesday.
5. JJ Wetherholt is all but certain to be the Cardinals starting second baseman on opening day. He has been much more confident in his performance than in his first big-league camp last spring, and there doesn’t seem to be any reason to delay his promotion. The stage does not appear too big for him.
One of the most impressive aspects of Wetherholt’s performance in the early spring games has been his plate discipline. He has drawn six walks in 16 trips to the plate and has reached base more times than he has made an out, striking out only twice.
6. The best feel-good story early in camp has been the performance of Packy Naughton. The left-handed reliever hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2023 and missed almost all of the last two years following two operations on his elbow.
So far Naughton has worked three scoreless innings, allowing one hit with no walks and four strikeouts. He would seem to be the favorite to be the second lefthander in the bullpen, paired with JoJo Romero.
7. While three of the right-handed reliever roles appear set with Ryne Stanek, Riley O’Brien and Matt Svanson, there is a spirited competition for the final two spots. Two of the candidates, George Soriano and Matt Pushard, don’t provide the roster flexibility the Cardinals usually like among their middle relievers because Soriano is out of options and Pushard is a Rule 5 draft selection, so he would have to stay on the roster all season or be offered back to the Marlins.
Chris Roycroft has had a good start to the spring with three scoreless innings and no walks, and the Cardinals want to see more of Gerson Moreno, who has five strikeouts in just two innings, both scoreless.
If the Cardinals are serious about keeping Tink Hence in the bullpen, he becomes somebody to watch as does Luis Gastelum, who worked two scoreless innings before leaving camp to pitch for team Mexico in the World Baseball Classic. Gordon Graceffo, who left to pitch for Italy, also remains in the mix of candidates for one of those last two jobs.
8. He won’t make the opening day roster, or maybe even the Double A roster to start the season, but it was good to see 19-year-old prospect Rainiel Rodriguez brought over from the minor-league camp for a couple of games. After his breakout season in 2025 it will be interesting to watch the young catcher’s performance this season to see if he is on a fast track to St. Louis.
9. There is more quality pitching depth in the minor leagues than the Cardinals have had for a while. The starting rotation at Triple A Memphis should be very good, and filled with younger arms than the team had in those roles a year ago. Quinn Mathews is looking for a bounce-back season after he struggled with his control in 2025, while fellow lefthander Brycen Mautz moves up from Springfield.
A sore arm kept Ixan Henderson from pitching in agame, but when he gets healthy, he is another lefthander who will part of that mix after leading the Texas League in ERA last season.
The potential rotation at Double A Springfield also will be fun to watch, based on the early performances of a couple of the pitchers who seem likely to begin the season there. Liam Doyle, yet another lefthander and the first-round draft pick last summer, should headline the rotation, followed closely by Jurrangelo Cijntje, the primary player acquired from Seattle in the Brendan Donovan trade.
Others who could be there are Chen-Win Lin, Braden Davis, Mason Molina and Tanner Franklin.
10. It has been fun to watch the players becoming adjusted to the ABS challenge system. It was a novelty last spring, but knowing it will be used in the regular season this year, players seem to have taken it more seriously and determine the strategy of when and when not to challenge a call.
The early games have revealed how close some of the calls are between being a ball or a strike, and how good the umpires, hitters and catchers are of getting the call correct. Fans have enjoyed it, and it should be a hit at Busch Stadium and the other major-league parks as well.
Photo of Jordan Walker by the Associated Press (for 10)
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