The Sports Xchange
MLB Team Report – St. Louis Cardinals – INSIDE PITCH
The Cardinals didn’t make any offseason moves to augment their rotation because they like young right-handers Trevor Rosenthal, Joe Kelly and Shelby Miller, along with Lance Lynn, who won 18 games in his first season as a big-league starter.
Even when veteran right-hander Chris Carpenter was lost, probably for the year, with a recurrence of the nerve problem that cost him much of last season, general manager John Mozeliak and manager Mike Matheny maintained that they still had enough pitching. That depth, however, would be tested even further if left-hander Jaime Garcia, who had shoulder problems throughout 2012, has trouble again this spring.
With right-handed veterans Adam Wainwright and Jake Westbrook available at the top of the rotation, the club should still have enough pitching, although the younger pitchers haven’t taken on a 200-plus-inning campaign as departed free agent right-hander Kyle Lohse and Carpenter did in past years.
The bullpen, mostly a strength last year, will have the same seventh- to ninth-inning mix of right-handers Edward Mujica, Mitchell Boggs and Jason Motte, the latter of whom had all 42 of the Cardinals’ saves in 2012. The left-handed side was weak last year, but Marc Rzepczynski might be freed up to pitch more innings, which is his norm, because the club signed left-handed specialist Randy Choate to a three-year deal.
Offensively, the club survived the first year with first baseman Albert Pujols in good fashion, leading the National League in runs scored. The core remains: right fielder Carlos Beltran, left fielder Matt Holliday, first baseman Allen Craig, catcher Yadier Molina and third baseman David Freese, all of whom had 22 or more home runs and between 76 and 102 RBI.
Center fielder Jon Jay had a strong season in his first year as a regular, hitting .305 and leading the team with 19 steals. Jay will lead off again, but the other two spots in the lineup may be up for grabs.
Shortstop Rafael Furcal, whose 2012 season ended in late August when he suffered a torn elbow ligament, chose not to have surgery. He is said to have improved in the offseason, but he has yet to make that long throw from the shortstop hole.
Pete Kozma, impressive when he filled in for Furcal late in the season and through the playoffs, could take over if necessary, but Kozma may not be what the club is looking for defensively at the position. Veteran infielder Ronny Cedeno has been signed as a stop-gap.
At second base, Daniel Descalso is the incumbent. He delivered some big hits in the postseason, but he batted only .227 in the regular season. Matt Carpenter, a valuable utility man who hit .294 as a reserve and drove in 46 runs, was in camp at Jupiter, Fla., by the first week of February and was taking ground balls at second base from coach Jose Oquendo.
Keep an eye on Oscar Tavares this spring. The 20-year-old outfielder is ticketed for Class AAA, but he ranks as the best hitting prospect to come through the system since Pujols.
Matheny, who will be starting his second season as the manager, no doubt will be more sure of himself this time around. Other then the keystone issues and the makeup of the rotation, the Cardinals don’t have as many problems as other teams. The club, which gained wild-card status the past two years, should challenge for the National League Central title this year.
———————————————–
MLB Team Report – St. Louis Cardinals – NOTES, QUOTES
–RHP Chris Carpenter, citing renewed difficulties with his shoulder, arm and hand as he threw bullpen sessions, has given up fighting the nerve problem that has afflicted him for the last few years. He’s stopped throwing, and his career appears to be done. Carpenter underwent thoracic outlet syndrome surgery last July to relieve nerve compression and remarkably came back to pitch in the playoffs, but he had pain and discomfort when he ramped up his workouts this spring. He told general manager John Mozeliak he couldn’t do it anymore.
–INF/OF Matt Carpenter reported to camp two weeks early to try his hand at second base, where he played only briefly last season. Coach Jose Oquendo is putting Carpenter through paces daily, and if Carpenter can show enough defensive skill, he may share time with Daniel Descalso.
–LHP Barret Browning, taken off the major league roster, cleared waivers and was assigned to the Cardinals’ minor league system. He will be one of 17 non-roster pitchers invited to camp. Browning, 28, went 1-3 with a 5.12 ERA in 22 relief appearances last year.
–C Yadier Molina, who finished fourth in the National League Most Valuable Player voting last year, was an early arrival at camp. Molina lives in the Jupiter, Fla., area now and usually is in camp days ahead of time anyway.
–INF Ty Wigginton, slated to come off the bench for the most part, might give the Cardinals a home run threat. They had just one pinch homer last season, that by departed free agent OF/1B Lance Berkman.
BY THE NUMBERS: 17 — Non-roster pitchers in the Cardinals’ spring camp.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “Tomorrow, we’ll do backhands.” — Coach Jose Oquendo, talking about trying to make INF/OF Matt Carpenter a second baseman.
———————————————–
MLB Team Report – St. Louis Cardinals – ROSTER REPORT
PROJECTED ROTATION:
1. RHP Adam Wainwright
2. RHP Jake Westbrook
3. RHP Lance Lynn
4. LHP Jaime Garcia
5. RHP Trevor Rosenthal or RHP Joe Kelly or RHP Shelby Miller
For the third season in a row, the Cardinals have lost a top-flight starter before the first pitch. First, Wainwright went out with an elbow injury that required surgery in the spring of 2011. Then, last year, RHP Chris Carpenter couldn’t overcome nerve issues affecting his shoulder and neck. He didn’t pitch until September. Now, Carpenter has been afflicted with the same thing he had last year and he has, in effect, been ruled out for the season.
The Cardinals are counting on young arms (Rosenthal, Kelly, Miller) to fill the breach, which might be widened if Garcia has more shoulder trouble.
PROJECTED BULLPEN:
RHP Jason Motte (closer)
RHP Mitchell Boggs
RHP Edward Mujica
LHP Marc Rzepczynski
LHP Randy Choate
RHP Joe Kelly
RHP Fernando Salas
With the exception of newly acquired Choate, the bullpen will look much the same as last season, including very specific roles for Motte (closer), Boggs (eighth inning) and Mujica (seventh inning). Motte had all 42 of the team’s saves last season.
The addition of Choate, more of a specialist, frees up Rzepczynski to pitch multiple innings more often.
PROJECTED LINEUP:
1. CF Jon Jay
2. RF Carlos Beltran
3. LF Matt Holliday
4. 1B Allen Craig
5. C Yadier Molina
6. 3B David Freese
7. 2B Daniel Descalso
8. SS Rafael Furcal
If Furcal is able to play on a regular basis after his elbow problems of late last season, he might move back into the leadoff spot, with Jay, who had a club high 19 steals, dropping down to sixth or seventh. Beltran, who led the club in home runs with 32, is capable of hitting second, third, fourth or fifth, and if the Cardinals want him to be more of an RBI threat, he might be moved down in the order, too.
The Cardinals don’t have much speed and don’t run much, but they are liable to use the hit-and-run, especially when slow-running Molina and Freese are at bat.
TOP ROOKIES: OF Oscar Taveras, on the fast track, hit .321 to win the Class AA Texas League batting title at Springfield last year. Just 20 years old, Taveras ranks as the top hitting prospect in the organization since Albert Pujols more than a decade ago.
RHPs Trevor Rosenthal (2.78 ERA in 19 games) and Shelby Miller (six scoreless innings in his only big-league start) both may crack the rotation or at least both make the team out of spring training. 2B Kolten Wong should be ready for the majors this season, too. Wong, the top pick by the team in 2011, hit .287 and stole 21 bases at Class AA Springfield last year.
MEDICAL WATCH:
–RHP Chris Carpenter (nerve problem in right shoulder) is out for the season.
–LHP Jaime Garcia (left shoulder tear) is on a throwing program as he continues to heal. The Cardinals are counting on him being ready for the start of the season.
–SS Rafael Furcal (torn ligament in right elbow) eschewed surgery and is expected to be ready for start of camp.
–RHP Jake Westbrook (strained right oblique) should be ready for the start of spring training.
———————————————–
